Don't Look Back In Anger
by DamnedEitherWay
Summary: Very AU story. Remy is a police investigator and she works for Division of Homicide Investigation, a fictional division of the SFPD. Allison is a medical examiner, sent to assist in the murder investigations.
1. Chapter 1

**This idea came into my head and it refused to go away. But I'm not sure if I would continue this story anytime soon, since I'm focusing on my other one (All These Things That I've Done). Still, I hope you guys enjoy it.**

"Hadley, Marshall. Go take a look at this." Lieutenant Virginia Gordon ordered and tossed the case file onto the desk. Remy slammed her hand on top of the file before it slid off the desk. "The GSA has already sent someone down there."

"Let me guess. Cameron." Remy spat out the name distastefully. Ever since they worked together for the first time six months back, they had never been on each other's good side. "Why the hell do they keep sending her?"

"Because she's the best damn medical examiner in the whole of San Francisco. Get over it, Hadley." Sherman Marshall, her long-time partner, responded with a smirk. Remy shot him a glare from her side of the conjoined desk.

"I think you're the one who should get over it, _Marshall_. She's not interested." Remy snapped back. Sherman had been trying to get the grade A medical examiner to go out with him, but his every effort had been shot down. He twisted his mouth to one side in annoyance at being reminded.

"Oh, will the two of you stop it? Just get your asses down there and do your damn job." Lt. Gordon barked as she turned away to head back to her office. Remy and Sherman shared an amused look before gathering up their stuff and then moved to leave the precinct.

* * *

They reached the scene of crime after a fifteen minutes drive. An ambulance and several police cars were parked along the road. There were quite a few police officers trying to push curious onlookers back, not wanting them to get too close to the crime scene.

"Detectives Hadley and Marshall from the DHI." Remy uttered to one of the officers as they flashed him their respective badges. He nodded and then lifted up the yellow tape that sealed the crime scene off for them to go through.

"What have you got?" Remy asked the officer-in-charge as they walked deeper into the alley, where the body lay. There were other investigators from the crime lab who were collecting samples.

"29 year-old male, Earnest Foster. He's a street musician. His body was found just a couple of hours ago by a kitchen help in the restaurant next door. He came in here to dump the trash, but came across this instead." The officer gestured towards the body. "Whoever did this is one hell of a psychopath."

"Did he touch anything?" Sherman questioned.

"Nope. He said he nearly peed in his pants. So if you find a urine sample, it'll probably be his." The officer joked. Remy and Sherman laughed a little, as appropriate as the current situation allowed.

"Thanks, Officer... Patterson." Remy said, after taking a glance at his nametag.

When they reached the back of the alley, the both of them cringed at the ghastly sight. The victim's front was sliced open with most of his internal organs spilled out. Allison was kneeling beside the body as she examined it.

"Dr. Cameron." Remy greeted monotonously.

Allison raised her head up slightly to see Remy and Sherman standing over her and the body. "Detective Hadley, Detective Marshall." She greeted back with equal enthusiasm, then turning her attention back to the bloody mess.

Tension was heavy in the air as silence loomed over the three of them. Sherman cleared his throat awkwardly. "So... What can you tell us, Dr. Cameron?" He asked, deciding to break the silence.

Remy fidgeted around, getting rather impatient at waiting for Allison to answer. She placed her hands on her hips and clenched her jaw in irritation. "Well?" She asked, raising the volume of her voice a little.

Allison shot her a displeased look. "You think this is easy? If you're so impatient, come do it yourself." She snapped. The lackadaisical attitude that Remy seemed to have, pissed her off tremendously.

"What's your problem?" Remy took an intimidating step forward but was stopped by her partner before she got any further. Allison scowled at her in response.

"Come on, Hadley. Calm down." Sherman whispered into her ear as he pulled her back by her arm. "Take your time, Dr. Cameron. Whenever you're ready." He said reassuringly to Allison, giving her a polite smile. Remy shrugged his hand off fiercely and stood a few paces back from the body with her hands folded across her chest, a frown on her face. There's just something about the blonde that seemed to always get on her nerves.

Allison let out a breath. "Well, based on the temperature of his body, he's been dead for eight hours at least. And the angles of slices on his body indicate the killer is most likely a left-hander." She explained calmly. "The slicing patterns the blade made are very unique, not like any typical knife. The shape of the blade may be curved. When the killer pulled the knife out, the organs got pulled out along with it."

Remy grimaced in disgust at the description while Sherman nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks. Is there anything else we should know?" He asked.

Allison shook her head. "That's all I've got for now. I'll take the body back to the morgue and see what I can find." She replied as she stood up. "I'll call you when I find something."

"_If_ you find something." Remy said under her breath, earning her a glare from Sherman.

Allison narrowed her eyes at Remy before picking up her medical examination kit. "I know you don't like me, Detective Hadley. But could you at least show me some respect?" She questioned with a trace of hurt detectable in her tone.

Remy dropped her head in shame. She chastised herself mentally for being so short-tempered. "I'm sorry." She mumbled.

Allison turned and walked away without so much as a response, clutching the handle of the kit tightly. She pursed her lips into a straight line, keeping up her strong appearance as she headed in the direction of her car.

"What is wrong with you?" Sherman scolded as soon as the blonde medical examiner was out of sight.

"I don't know! It just came out of nowhere." Remy protested lamely. "There's just something about her."

"I don't think it's her who is the problem. Maybe there's just something about you." Sherman retorted, frowning deeply.

"Can we just stop talking about this? There's a psychotic killer to find." Remy said exasperatingly.

"Fine. But the two of you need to work out your issues. Seriously. There's only so much drama I can take." Sherman stated. He loathed being stuck in the middle of the two women. There wasn't one case that he could recall in which they didn't snap at each other.

"Let's just solve this damn case first, okay? We should pay a visit to Foster's family, tell them the bad news." Remy rubbed her temples to relieve the pressure in her head. She hated this part of her job the most.

Sherman nodded and they walked in silence to the car.


	2. Chapter 2

**Someone asked why I didn't write for Rizzoli & Isles instead. That's because I want to use Thirteen and Cameron. Besides, the former pair is sorta best friends. Thirteen and Cameron hate each other in this story! Well, at least in the beginning, the idea which I'm basing on.  
**

**Anyway, since the story was flowing in my head, I decided to just write and post it. So, here goes the second chapter!**

"All right, got it. Thanks, Gardner. Nope, still not buying you a donut. I'm gonna hang up now." Remy chuckled as she disconnected the phone call.

"Can't you just buy that poor guy _one_ stupid donut?" Sherman shook his head in amusement. "What's the address?"

"Here. It's not far away." Remy passed him the small piece of paper she wrote the address on. "And no, I'm not going buy him a donut. It's a matter of principle." She stared out the window, watching the colourful buildings of San Francisco fly past as they drove through.

"Yeah right. Just admit it, you're penny-pinching." Sherman teased, earning him a playful smack on the arm. "Hey! I'm driving."

"Then shut the hell up and drive." Remy retorted good-humouredly. She had known Sherman since the days of their time in the police academy and they had helped each other through countless hard times. If it wasn't for Sherman, she knew she would be alone in the increasingly depraved world.

They pulled up in front of a rather torn and tattered red-bricked apartment building ten minutes later. "This is it." Sherman announced as he turned to his partner. "Let's do it."

Remy nodded grimly, clenching her jaw as she repeated the speech in her head. She had gone through this process numerous times and thought she would be numbed by now. Instead, her heartache only intensified. She slammed the car door shut and then jogged to catch up with Sherman, who was already walking up the steps to the entrance.

They climbed the narrow stairway up to the third floor and went their separate ways to find the apartment.

"Found it!" Remy called out. Sherman strode up to stand next to her and they stood outside, staring at the number '3H' on the wooden door for a brief moment.

"Ready?" Sherman asked. He knocked on the door when Remy gave him the affirmative.

They heard scuffling from inside the apartment before the door opened. An old lady with soft features greeted them. "May I help you?" She smiled gently.

"Are you Mrs. Foster?" Remy asked. She could feel her heart tightening. The old lady gave the two of them a hesitant nod, a frown working its way to her face. "Is there something wrong?" She questioned tentatively, a sense of foreboding overcoming her.

An old man walked up to stand behind her, putting his hands on either side of her shoulders.

"I'm Detective Hadley and this is my partner, Detective Marshall. I'm sorry, Mrs. Foster." Tears were beginning to flood the old lady's eyes, as well as Remy's. "Your son was found dead this morning." Her voice breaking towards the end.

Mrs. Foster's legs gave out as she collapsed down to the ground, sobbing. They both moved to help her husband eased her down slowly, whose own lower lip was quivering as well.

* * *

After an indefinite amount of time and comforting, the four of them finally managed to move into the apartment. Remy and Sherman sat on the couch opposite the victim's parents. The old couple held each other's hand in their own, lending support and courage to one another.

"Do you know anyone who might want to harm Earnest?" Sherman asked softly.

"Earnie is a good boy, always have been. Who would do that to him?" Mrs. Foster tried bravely to fight back the sobs as Mr. Foster rubbed one hand up and down her back soothingly.

"He has never complained about anyone before. At least not to us." Mr. Foster spoke up, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Does he have any close friends that he may have confided in?" Remy asked, keeping her emotions in check. She wanted nothing more than to find the killer and bring him to justice. The sense of righteousness burning within her.

"Well, maybe Shirley might know something. They have been dating for a year now. She's a really sweet girl. Oh poor Shirley, she's gonna be so heartbroken!" Mrs. Foster broke down into tears again as she clung to her husband.

Remy and Sherman shared a knowing look. "We're so sorry about your son, Mr. and Mrs. Foster. Don't worry, we'll catch whoever did it." Sherman assured. The old couple merely nodded sullenly in response.

* * *

"Damn." Remy breathed out as soon as they exited the apartment building.

"Yeah. That was rough." Sherman responded, his expression grim.

Sherman's phone rang before anyone of them could continue the conversation. He pulled his phone from the front pocket of his dark-blue jeans and flipped it open. "Marshall."

"Hi Detective Marshall, it's Allison Cameron. I found something. You and Detective Hadley can come down and have a look." The voice on the other end of the phone said.

"That's great. We're coming down right now. Thanks, Dr. Cameron." Sherman replied and smiled to himself before flipping his phone shut.

Remy arched an amused eyebrow at seeing Sherman smiling foolishly at nothing in particular. "What is it?" She asked, curious about the sudden change in mood in her partner.

"Oh, nothing." He shook his head dismissively. "It's just Dr. Cameron. She wants us to go down to the morgue. She found something."

"She better." Remy quipped. She raised both her hands up in surrender when Sherman shot her an annoyed look.

"Would it kill you to be nice to her?" Sherman questioned as he walked towards the car.

"Actually, it would." Remy retorted, going around the front of the car to the other side. "Besides, she was the one who snapped at me first, remember? That first case we had with her? _She_ started it." She continued, coming close to whinging like a little kid. She remembered that incident as clearly as though it had just happened.

It was about half a year ago. They had been sent to a museum when one of its employees was killed. Allison was already there, examining the body when they arrived. The two of them approached her to get the physical details of the homicide. Remy had pointed out a peculiar bruise on the victim's inner thigh and asked Allison to check it out. That was when she snapped at her. "Would you like me to tell you how to do your job?" All hell broke loose afterwards. Whenever they worked on a case together, sarcastic comments and snarky remarks would be exchanged.

"That doesn't mean you have to continue." Sherman rebuffed. He was stuck in between his best friend and his crush. It wasn't a great position to be in. "Get in the car." He said annoyingly as he got into the black BMW coupe and sat himself in the driver's seat. He then turned the key and started the engine.

Remy rolled her eyes dramatically before opening the car door and getting into the passenger's seat.

"I saw that." Sherman said flatly once Remy settled into the car.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm so happy that this story is getting positive reviews! Thank you guys for taking time to read this! I really _really_ appreciate it.  
**

**Hope I don't disappoint with the following chapter. XD**

"Dr. Cameron, you've got something for us?" Sherman asked once him and Remy reached Allison's side. They were in a well-equipped morgue of the San Francisco General Hospital. The medical examiner was alone inside.

Allison was seated on a stool beside the metal table on which the victim laid. She was looking into a microscope. "Yeah. Here, take a look at this." She moved aside to allow the two detectives to take turns looking into the microscope.

"I also found several bruises around the abdomen, but they were already healing. He could have got them a few days or a week before." She continued.

Remy furrowed her eyebrows when Sherman gave her a shrug and a blank stare as he looked up slightly from the microscope. She gave him a little push as a signal for him to get out of the way.

"Care to tell us what is it we're looking at?" Remy asked while looking at the dark-coloured crystal-like specimen through the scope.

Allison took a calming breath to soothe her nerves at hearing Remy's peeved tone, but couldn't help frowning in annoyance. "It's obsidian." She stated plainly. There were times when she wanted to make nice, but whenever they started 'talking', Remy's snappiness reminded her how that could never happen.

"So?" Remy questioned after sharing a baffled look with Sherman.

"It's a type of volcanic glass. I found several tiny pieces stuck inside the victim's body. In the ancient times, it's used to make blades of knives. Now, the only place you can find one is probably in an antique store." Allison explained.

"Or on the internet. Ever heard of e-bay?" Remy asked sarcastically.

Allison narrowed her eyes indignantly at her. She decided that she had had enough. "You've got what you came for. Now, why don't you get the hell out of my morgue?" She hissed.

"You're throwing us out?" Remy breathed out in disbelief. This was the first time that Allison had declared to want them out.

"Won't be the first time a woman chased you out." Allison sneered.

"What did you say?" Remy raised her voice at the blonde, staring angrily. Sherman moved to stand directly in front of Remy, blocking her view of Allison. He placed his hands on either side of the brunette's shoulders in an attempt to calm her down. Her face was beet-red.

"Let's just go, Remy." He said in a soft voice. He had never witnessed the two women squabbled so heatedly before. Things between them had escalated to a whole new level.

"Did you hear what she ju-" Remy stopped her protest grudgingly when she saw the stern expression Sherman had on. She put her hands on her hips and squeezed her eyes shut in anger and frustration. "Fine." With that, she turned around and stormed out of the double-doors of the morgue.

Sherman turned back to Allison, who had one hand on her forehead and the other on her hip. A look of exasperation evident on her face. He pressed his lips into a straight line before turning to leave as well. He was at a loss of words.

When he was halfway down the hallway, Sherman heard a loud bang resounding from the morgue much like someone had just slammed a fist onto a metal table. He stopped abruptly at hearing it. After letting out a defeated sigh, he continued his walk to the elevator.

* * *

"I can't believe she said that!" Remy yelled, gesturing wildly inside the car. She had been going on at it for the last twenty minutes, which was about the same time they drove away from the hospital. "She doesn't know _anything_ about me. And she acted like she's better than me. Who the hell does she think she is?"

Sherman had been listening to his partner rambled on angrily about Allison. His ears were starting to hurt. She had brought up snippets of arguments she had with Allison in the past six months from time to time, which he was sure no one actually remembered. He himself didn't even remember and he was there in all of them, apparently.

He put the brakes on the car when the traffic light turned red. Remy was still rattling on in the passenger's seat, but it barely registered in his mind. The ramblings had become gibberish about ten minutes ago. Sherman took in a deep breath. _That's it._

"Stop!" He yelled, dragging out the word. Remy jumped in her seat at the sudden shriek, pressing her back into the corner between the car door and the seat. Her left hand gripped the side of the leather-cushioned seat while her right palm was pressed on the ceiling of the car, in a comical pose. She stared wide-eye in shock at Sherman. Her face becoming slightly pale from the fright.

"Would you _please_ stop?" Sherman pleaded breathlessly, his face flushed.

"You couldn't have told me nicely? No need to yell. You nearly scare the crap out of me." Remy grumbled, settling back into the seat once more.

"Yeah right. Would you have stopped if I told you nicely?" Sherman shot back. He stepped on the accelerator when the light turned green.

"No." Remy mumbled sheepishly.

"You've never been like this before. It's not like that was first time Cameron made a jibe at you. Why are you making such a big deal about it this time?" Sherman questioned. For the first four months or so, whenever she and Allison argued, Remy would brood for a while or plainly shrugged it off after. However, he had noticed that she had become increasingly bothered by the blonde in recent times for no obvious reason.

Remy let out a breath. She seemed to have calmed down significantly. "I don't know. When she said that, it kinda" _hurts?_ "just pissed me off." She replied. She frowned slightly at the initial thought, wondering where it came from. She couldn't deny the fact that Allison seemed to get on her nerves much more lately, making her feel a tad uneasy.

"You _always_ get pissed off." Sherman retorted, interrupting Remy's train of thought.

"Yeah. Like I am right now." She snapped her head the side to glare at him. Sherman smiled an amused smile, infecting Remy as well. She shook her head in amazement at how he seemed to always make her feel better so effortlessly.

"Well, now that you are feeling better, can you call Gardner and have him check out that obsidian thing?" Sherman asked, putting his head back onto the case after getting a little sidetracked by the drama off it. " We need to go talk to the girlfriend."

"Fine. But if he asks me to buy him that stupid donut again, I'm gonna shoved one down his throat when we get back to the precinct." Remy quipped as she dialled the number on her phone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, I changed the title. This one just seems more fitting. It's the name of a song by Oasis!**

**And pardon my manners for not replying to individual reviews sooner! I got so excited about writing that it totally slipped my mind until now. Please forgive me!**

"Miss Barrett?" Remy called out for the fourth time from outside the victim girlfriend's apartment. They had been knocking on the door for a couple of minutes now.

"Maybe we should go. Come back tomorrow." Sherman suggested. Since no one had answered the door this long, it was most likely there was no one home. Remy seemed reluctant though. She hoped to get new leads on the case as soon as possible. The thought of a psycho killer out running loose on the streets didn't sit well with her. The faster they put him behind bars, the better.

"Miss Barrett!" Remy tried for the last time, banging on the door more forcefully. The door opened a few seconds later.

A dishevelled woman with dirty blonde hair stood by the half-opened door, leaning on the frame of it. She had a blue blanket wrapped around her. She squinted her eyes at the bright lighting of the corridor. "Who are you?" She asked in a hoarse voice and sniffled for a bit afterwards.

"I'm Detective Hadley from the DHI. This is Detective Marshall." Remy made a vague gesture to Sherman. "You're Earnest Foster's girlfriend?"

"Yeah. Oh my god, is he in trouble?" Shirley stood up straighter and appeared to be much more awake at the mention her boyfriend, wiping her nose with the back of her hand.

Remy and Sherman looked at each other. "I'm sorry, Miss Barrett. Earnest Foster was killed this morning." The latter broke the bad news.

"What?" She breathed out disbelievingly, her eyes glistening with tears. Sherman took a step forward and wrapping his arm around her shoulders before she could crumble to the ground.

He led her to the couch inside her apartment and sat her down slowly. Remy followed behind them after closing the door.

"Do you know who did it?" Shirley asked as tears flowed down her cheeks. She pulled the blanket tighter around her.

"No, which is why we're here. Do you know if anyone would want to hurt him? For any reason." Remy asked, passing her a tissue box that was resting on the kitchen counter. She then moved to sit on the coffee table.

"No. I don't think so." She took the tissue box from Remy, giving her a weak smile albeit unsuccessfully. She thought for a moment before continuing. "But he got into a scuffle with a guy not long ago. I don't know his name though."

"What happened?" Sherman questioned. Remy leaned forward to listen more closely, her interest peaked.

"This guy accused Earnie of stealing his 'spot'. Earnie used to perform outside an auditorium, but he changed and started performing at the entrance to Civic Centre Station about a month ago. They had a huge argument and then they got physical." Shirley explained, then blew her nose into a tissue.

"Do you remember anything or anyone else that might help us?" Sherman asked softly. Shirley shook her head.

"Are you gonna be okay alone? We can stay with you for a while longer." Remy offered, placing a comforting hand on Shirley's knee.

"Could you, please?" She asked tearfully.

* * *

The two of them were back in the precinct after spending about an hour accompanying and consoling Shirley until they were sure she could be left alone.

Remy plopped down into her seat and threw her head back, exhausted after a rather long day. Sherman, on the other hand, turned on his computer as he prepared to document the things they had found today, not quite as worn-out.

"Hey! There are two of my favourite detectives!" A curly-hair brawny man exclaimed with his arms spread out as he approached their desk.

Remy grudgingly lifted her head up. She could recognize that voice from anywhere. "What do you want, Gardner? If you say donut, I'll snap your head off." She threatened in jest. Sherman let out a laugh in amusement.

"Someone's snippy. Let me guess. Mhmm." Gardner placed an index finger on his lower lip and pretended to be deep in thought. "Dr. Cameron?"

Remy let out a noisy breath. "I don't wanna talk about it." She replied dully. She was still affected by the rather heated encounter with Allison earlier. They had always jabbed at each other, but never made any personal attacks.

"Yeah right. I seem to remember you rambling on and on about it in the car." Sherman retorted. "My ears still hurt you know." He joked while sticking out his lower lip and rubbing his ears with his hands.

"Oh, shut up." Remy snapped back irritably at the tease. "And you too." She narrowed her eyes at Gardner when he broke out into laughter.

"Aren't the two of you just adorable?" Gardner asked good-humouredly. Remy rolled her eyes in response.

"Anyway, I'm here to give you this." He handed the brunette detective a file, switching to business mode instantly. "Those are the lists of all the antique stores in San Francisco that sold anything obsidian-related. I'm also checking the net, but nothing's come up so far."

"Thanks, Gardner." Remy said gratefully before the man turned to leave. If they could track down the weapon used to kill their male victim, it would most possibly lead them to the killer as well. She took a look at her watch. It was getting pretty late, most of the stores were probably closed. They would have to wait till the next day to continue the investigation.

"We should go to the ones located near Civic Centre Station first and go from there." She suggested wisely to Sherman, who nodded in approval.

"Maybe we should call Cameron and ask her to come along." Remy shot Sherman a glare at the suggestion. He met her glare and tilted his head to one side.

"She could help us. She has a better idea on what kind of weapon killed Earnest Foster. Her insights have helped us a lot in the past, I'm sure they are gonna come in handy." He explained. He wanted nothing more than for the two women to work together in peace, but he wasn't sure if that day would ever come. The one thing he knew though, was Remy would never let any personal issue affect a murder investigation.

"Fine, but _you_ call her. I'm not talking to her anymore." Remy sulked. She had had this weird feeling in her chest since Allison made that upsetting comment, but she couldn't quite place it. There had been other times when she had felt that same weird feeling and in all those other times, she couldn't quite figure it out either. She had been feeling more of it lately.

"That's mature." Sherman muttered under his breath as he entered something into the computer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, I might have accidentally implied that Cameron and Remy knew each other in the past. Oops! But bear in mind this story picked up _six months_ after they met, so naturally there's this gap in between where things had happened. They will be revealed as the story unfolds!**

**I know you guys are anxious for them to get together. Well, so am I! But for the sake of the story, I didn't wanna rush into anything.  
**

"Did you call Cameron?" Remy asked while keeping her eyes on the road. It was her turn on the wheels. They were going to visit the antique stores near Civic Centre Station, starting with the one nearest to it and they were meeting Allison there.

"Yeah. I called her last night." Sherman took a glance at his watch. They were nearly fifteen minutes late thanks to Remy, who overslept even though she swore it was accidental. He didn't believe her at all. "She's probably waiting for us." He let out a sigh. It was surely going to be a long day for him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't do it on purpose." Remy apologized again. "Seriously." She added when Sherman shot her an unconvinced look. As much as she dreaded to see Allison this morning, she really didn't mean to have overslept.

When she turned the corner, they saw Allison sitting on the bench outside a flower shop next to a store named Enrique's Antique. She had let her flowing blonde hair down, instead of bunching them up into the usual ponytail they were used to see. Remy unconsciously swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Oh my god." Sherman breathed out when he saw her. Remy rolled her eyes at hearing the awe in his voice as she drove the car into the empty parking space in front of her. Allison stood up from the bench when she saw them pulling up.

"Dr. Cameron! I'm so sorry for making you wait." Sherman called out as soon as he got out of the car and walked up to the blonde. "Hadley was being kind of a pig this morning." He joked, earning him a rather fierce punch to his upper arm from the aforementioned detective and a glare afterwards.

"It's okay. I didn't wait that long." Allison replied, smiling a little. She was hesitant about meeting them, especially after the heated encounter with Remy the day before. She regretted the comment she made and had decided to apologize to the brunette in person when the chance presented itself, whether Remy would accept it or not.

An awkward silence befell on the three of them. Remy looked anywhere but in the direction of the medical examiner, while Allison just stared at the ground. Sherman looked alternatively between the two women. "Shall we?" He asked, breaking the silence. He was rubbing his upper left arm to relieve the throbbing pain caused by his partner's fist.

Remy turned and walked towards the antique store, answering his question by action. Sherman smiled at Allison and they followed behind her, walking side-by-side.

When she opened the door, a high-pitched ring echoed throughout the cramped yet orderly store. The atmosphere inside was glum and the dark-green paint of the walls felt imposing.

"Welcome to Enrique's! Can I help you?" A man with sleek hair, possibly in his mid-thirties, greeted in thick Spanish accent as Remy entered and approached him. Sherman chivalrously held the door open for Allison.

Remy flashed her badge to him and his warm demeanour faltered slightly. "Can I ask you a few questions?" She asked. Sherman joined her at her side while Allison walked around the store, scanning for anything in relevance to the case. The man nodded hesitantly.

"Hey guys, come look at this." Allison called out and beckoned the two detectives to her position before they could start probing the man. She had spotted a series of wicked-looking knives on display in the glass counter. They each had five sharp bladed hooks, dark-coloured, about an inch apart from each other.

Remy raised both her eyebrows in astonishment. Sherman let out a whistle when he saw them. "That's some nasty knives you've got there, Enrique. Sold it to anyone recently?" He asked the man standing behind the counter.

"Just one." He replied while flipping through his logbook. "A week ago."

"To who?" Remy questioned.

Allison fidgeted slightly at the proximity of the brunette detective. Remy was standing with half her body behind her, leaning forward a little on her right hand which was placed on the counter by the blonde's hip. She was _looming_ over her, but Remy seemed to be unaware of it. They had never come so close to each other before, their bodies almost touching. She released a shallow breath.

"To that guy who perform by the station. But he's not there now. You should hear him sing sometime. Muy buena." Enrique praised.

Sherman pulled out a photo of Earnest Foster from the pocket of his jacket and showed it to Enrique. "Is it this guy?" He asked.

"Nah, this guy is crap. He stole Charlie's spot, you know. Charlie was the one bought it. I even gave him a discount." He replied in a sing-song manner.

Allison rubbed her temples in exasperation at the man's blithe response. Sherman shook his head in disbelief while Remy clenched her jaw in frustration. "What's his full name? Charlie." She probed, thoroughly annoyed by his ignorance.

"Charles Walker. Why?" Enrique asked curiously, puzzled by the behaviours of the trio before him. None of them bothered to answer him. They had already turned away and were heading for the exit. Sherman flipped his phone open and began dialling Gardner's number.

"Hey Gardner, I need you to do something for me. I need you to ch-" Sherman spoke into phone. "What did you say? I can't hear you. Hang on." He made a vague gesture to the two women towards the alley next to the antique store before walking away.

Remy and Allison stood awkwardly beside the black BMW coupe. The former was leaning with her back pressed onto the car door, kicking at the dirt on the floor. The latter stood a few steps away with her hands clasped loosely together in front of her. They were rarely left alone with one another. Sherman was always there.

Allison passed her teeth through her lower lip, debating internally on whether to seize the opportunity. "I'm sorry." She forced out a few seconds later. Remy looked up and met apologetic blue eyes. "About yesterday, I-"

"I don't care." Remy cut her off hastily, putting on a straight face. She looked away from Allison, choosing to look at Sherman paced back and forth in the alley instead, absorbed in his phone conversation. But, she could still see the blonde move closer towards her from her peripheral vision.

Allison frowned in annoyance. The brunette's nonchalance getting on her nerves once more. "Why are you always being like this?" She questioned with a trace of anger in her tone.

"Being like what?" Remy shot back irritably, snapping her head back to look at Allison who now stood only a step away.

"_This_." Allison made a narked gesture at Remy. "Acting like you don't care. I'm trying to apologize to you and you wouldn't even give me a damn chance."

Remy opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by Sherman. "I got an address!" He waved a small piece of paper in his hand in triumph as he walked towards them. Remy turned to look at him with an irked expression while Allison continued to stare straight at her. He instantly sensed the tension when he reached them.

"Let's go then." Remy replied flatly. She snatched the paper off his hand and got into the car swiftly.

Sherman looked to Allison sheepishly. "You gonna be okay?" He asked hesitantly.

Allison tore her eyes away from Remy, who was staring straight at the car in front of her in the driver's seat. "Yeah. I'll be fine. Go." She assured, pursing her lips into a straight line.

Sherman nodded before jogging around the car to the other side and got in. As soon as her partner had settled in, Remy started the engine and drove out of the parking space. She chanced a glance at the side-view mirror to see Allison standing sullenly on the sidewalk as she drove away.


	6. Chapter 6

**If you have trouble picturing Sherman in this story, you can use Eric Johnson from Rookie Blue as a basis. I just realize I'd never really described his appearance. Sorry about that.**

**Moving on from that, get ready for some action!  
**

"SFPD! Open the door!" Remy yelled, banging fiercely on the door of the apartment of their primary suspect, Charles Walker. They had a couple of police officers with them as back-up.

It was complete silence until they heard the sound of glass shattering emitted from the other side of the door. Remy and Sherman looked at each other for a second before simultaneously drawing out their handguns from their holsters in one swift motion.

Sherman gave a nod to one of the officers, who kicked the door opened. They carefully stepped into the apartment with their guns aiming. A movement in the corner caught Remy's attention. "He's climbing down the fire escape!" She shouted as she slid her gun back into its holder.

Before any of her three companies could respond, Remy was already chasing after the suspect, squeezing herself through the open window and rushed down the fire escape.

"Call for back-up." Sherman ordered the officers. He turned and ran out of the apartment, taking a different route of pursue.

Remy ran down the steps of the fire escape as quickly as she could. She was on auto-pilot, her body coursing with adrenaline. She could see Charles Walker down below her about a few flights of stairs away. When she saw that he had nearly reached the ground, she stopped for a very brief moment. She looked around, thinking of the best option. Her eyes caught a closed-lid dumpster beneath. Without second thought, she took half a step back, gripped the ledge and swung her legs over it. She could feel her heart in her mouth as she plummeted three storeys down.

_Bang!_

Remy landed on her back first onto the lid of the dumpster and then tumbled onto the ground. "Owww, fuck!" She winced in pain, rolling around the floor and holding her right shoulder. She lifted her head up and noticed Charles was looking at her in shock. He stood dumbfounded for a while but sprinted away as soon as he heard the distant sound of siren. Remy gritted her teeth and pushed herself off the ground, resuming the chase once again.

Charles ran down the street, pushing away whoever was in his path of escape. "Police! Get out of the way!" Remy yelled. She was doing the same thing as well since only a few were able to react quickly enough. She couldn't care less if it was an old lady or a little kid she pushed out of her way, she had her sight set on the target and she was determined to take him down. Charles dashed across the road and carried on with his getaway on the next street.

_Screech!_

A taxi driver slammed on the brakes of his cab just in time when he saw Remy was about to run across. Instead of stopping in her tracks, Remy used her momentum to lift herself up onto the hood of the cab and slithered off it. None of her pace was lost as she landed on the other side of the road, continuing her pursue. She felt as if she was floating in air, watching the whole scene unfold. Her legs carried her faster than her mind could catch up.

Charles turned his head back to steal a glimpse of his chaser's position. It turned out to be a bad move as he crashed right into a fruit cart that had just been wheeled out from a store. People on the street nearby shrieked and jumped back instinctively. The cart smashed into pieces due to the powerful impact. Apples and oranges rolled away in all directions. Charles let out a painful groan. He laboriously got to his feet and hobbled off hurriedly. However, he only managed a few steps before Remy tackled him down onto the cobblestone-covered pavement like a NFL linebacker.

He struggled around in an attempt to throw Remy off of him, but his effort was brought to an end when an elbow whacked across his face, rendering him unconscious. Remy flipped him onto his front before bringing his hands to his back and cuffed them together. She was straddling his back but was too tired to move off him. She slumped a little on the lifeless body as exhaustion set in.

"Are you nuts? You nearly killed yourself back there!" Sherman yelled as he finally caught up with a few uniformed police officers in tow. He was rushing behind Remy when she was almost hit by the cab. He put his hands on Remy's upper arms and helped her up. The officers then hoisted Charles off the ground and dragged him away into a SFPD cruiser.

Remy was still panting heavily. She leaned forward, placing her arms on her knees to catch her breath. "I'm also a nut-job that caught the guy. I think I can live with that." She replied breathlessly as she lifted herself back up.

"Please don't that again. _Ever_." Sherman pulled her into a hug, letting out a relieved sigh. Remy cringed in pain and he pulled away instantly.

"You okay? Where are you hurt?" Sherman asked in quick succession as concern took over him. Remy pointed to her right shoulder, her features scrunching together in agony. Now that the adrenaline had wore off, she was starting to feel the full effect of the injury. Her whole body was also beginning to ache from the three-storey freefall earlier. She knew she was very lucky to get away with just an injured shoulder and full-body ache.

"Let's get you to the hospital." Sherman said. He wrapped his arm protectively around Remy and led her back to the car.

* * *

Remy sat on a bed in the ER at San Francisco General Hospital, with her right arm in a sling. She also had a couple of bandages on her upper torso for minor abrasions. Sherman was at the nurses' station sorting out some documentation.

She fiddled with a stray string of the sling absentmindedly as she stared blankly at the tiled floor. "Heard you caught the guy. Congratulations." A familiar voice jolted her out of her dazing.

She snapped her head to the side and saw Allison standing at the foot of the bed, her face unreadable.

"Yeah." Remy let out softly before dropping her gaze back to the ground.

Allison moved slowly from her position to stand beside Remy, but kept a small distance between them. "So how are you feeling? I see you've got that sling around your arm." She asked tentatively. She mentally braced herself for any witticism from the brunette detective.

Remy felt butterflies fluttered around in her stomach at the concern. She could feel her cheeks slowly hea- Wait. "Oh my god, what was that!" She exclaimed in a mixed of horror and disbelief, leaping off the bed at the same time. Allison jumped back a couple of steps in shock at the sudden action and exclamation from Remy. The whole ER ceased its activities.

"What was what?" Sherman asked as he approached the bed. He looked in bafflement at Remy's horrified expression and Allison's startled one. "Is everything okay?" He questioned again when none of them answered.

"Yeah, yeah. Can we go now?" Remy shook herself out of her stupor and asked impatiently. She needed to get the hell away from _her_. She headed for the exit hurriedly, not waiting for Sherman's response.

Sherman turned to look at Allison inquisitively. She gave him a shrug in return, not quite sure what just happened herself.

Remy paced around the area outside the ER as she waited for Sherman to come out. Her mind was running out of control and she reflexively ran her left hand through her hair. She wondered whether she had imagined those feelings, but she knew the answer without a doubt. _God, this isn't happening. I like Cameron?_


	7. Chapter 7

**:)**

"Great work on the Earnest Foster case, Hadley and Marshall." Lt. Gordon commended when she reached their desk.

"Thanks, Lieutenant. It's not just us two, though. Dr. Cameron was a great help as always." Sherman replied, smiling as he thought of Allison. "And I'm sure my partner would agree as well. Don't you, Hadley?" He asked.

Across the desk, Remy was in a daze. She was also thinking about that same blonde medical examiner. A couple of days had passed since the 'incident' at the hospital and she had been trying to deal with her newfound feelings. It's a fine line between love and hate. She had crossed that line, unknowingly. The dark circles under her eyes were the sign of her sleeplessness, having tossed and turned in bed during the nights before slipping into restless slumbers.

"Hey, Hadley!" Sherman shouted, giving her a playful kick under the desk. That was the umpteenth time in the past days he had caught her daydreaming.

"What was that for?" Remy asked, frowning in annoyance.

"Am I right?" Sherman asked again. "About Dr. Cameron." He added after Remy gave him a puzzled look.

Remy froze up instantly at the mentioning of Allison. _Oh shit, how the hell did he know?_ She was panicking internally even though her face told an entirely different story. Her composed facade faltered, however, when she started speaking. "No! I- Wha- Wh- Why would you ask that?" She questioned, tripping over her tongue.

Both Sherman and Lt. Gordon frowned at the strange response. "You don't agree Dr. Cameron was a great help?" The latter asked in bewilderment.

"Huh? What?" Remy's mind blanked for a brief second. At last realizing that she was acting on guilty conscience, she quickly recovered, in a way. "Of course not. I mean- I mean yes, I agree with- Wait, no. I disag- Wh- What was the question again?" A sheepish expression crept up to her features as soon as she finished. Sherman watched on in amusement.

"Are you okay there, Detective Hadley?" Lt. Gordon asked in concern at the display of uncharacteristic behaviour. Not trusting her speech at the moment, Remy nodded.

"I think she needs to slow down on her intake of pain medication. She's probably just high." Sherman joked while trying to contain his laughter. Remy narrowed her eyes at him threateningly.

"Yeah. Well, good work anyways." Lt. Gordon highlighted again. She eyed Remy suspiciously for a while before walking away.

"What is wrong with you this few days?" Sherman asked in a mixed of curiosity and concern.

Remy released a defeated sigh. "I wish I know."

* * *

Allison stood hesitantly at the entrance to the DHI office with a beach file and slider storage bag in her hands. She was at the precinct to drop off the post-mortem report and evidence she found in the victim's body.

Remy was alone at the desk with Sherman nowhere to be seen. The brunette detective had been less than receptive of her vague attempts at friendliness. She even shot down her apology once before. Allison bit her lower lip, finally deciding to get this over and done with.

She strode over to the desk, looking as self-assured as possible. "Hey." She greeted cautiously.

Remy had managed to get a certain blonde medical examiner out of her mind for the past few hours or so by immersing herself in work. So, when Allison seemingly appeared out of nowhere, she was completely caught off guard. She jumped in her seat, bumping her sling right arm into the desk in the process. She hissed in pain while clutching her sprained shoulder. Her face scrunched up in agony.

Allison set down the things in her hands immediately. She then stepped forward to place a comforting hand on Remy's upper arm with the other carefully holding her bent right arm. "God, are you okay?" She asked quickly, her caring nature taking over.

Remy opened her eyes when she felt hands on her. Allison was leaning close. To her, it was as if this was the very first time she was seeing Allison for who she really was. The beautiful delicate features, the heavenly saccharine scent, the tender touches and the warmth radiating from her were all too much. She needed desperately to take a deep breath, but Allison's scent was thick in the air.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Remy answered through gritted teeth. She grimaced at the throbbing pain and shrinked a little into her seat as subtly as possible to create some space between them. She could hear her heart thumping and wondered if Allison could hear them too.

Allison noticed the subtle action and took it as a sign for her to back off, quickly withdrawing her hands and taking a few steps back away from Remy. "I'm sorry." She mumbled.

Remy was feeling every bit of the disappointment when Allison removed her hands and moved away. That was the absolute opposite of what she wanted. She clenched her jaw in frustration and ran her good hand through her hair. "It's okay. What did you want?" She asked, her frustration inadvertently slipping into her tone of voice.

Allison was not at all surprised by the tenor showed. _So much for caring. _She let out a breath, her expression hardening. "Nothing. I'm just here to give you these." She picked up the file and zipper bag from the desk, handing them to the brunette detective.

Remy held out her hand and took the stuff from the blonde medical examiner. Their fingers grazed each others for a brief second, sending a wave of electricity coursing throughout their entire body that caused them to pull back their hands instantly. They stared at one another in shock. Papers dropped out from the file as it hit the ground.

Allison was the first to recover, bending down to gather up the papers. Remy followed a few seconds later, getting out of her seat and helping out rather clumsily with only one hand.

"It's okay, I got it." Allison assured with a small smile when she saw Remy struggling. Remy blushed in embarrassment. She stood up and turned her head away to hide her flushed cheeks. She wasn't sure if it was a reaction to the smile or the fact that she was caught acting ineptly.

"Here." Remy turned back to the voice and took the things from Allison, who held it out for her. She made sure there was no contact whatsoever this time around. She could only handle that much.

After a moment of tension-filled silence, Allison cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I should go now." She said softly. Remy merely nodded in response, too flustered to even speak.

Allison lingered for a while longer before walking away. When she stepped out of the office, she passed a hand over her face. She could feel the six months worth of tension between her and Remy reaching breaking point, but what frightened her the most was that it wasn't going to happen in the way she had originally thought it would. And that made her heart pounded.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm trying to improve on incorporating more Camteen interactions into the story as much as possible, since this IS a Camteen story and I seemed to have been writing their relationship as more of a subtext. And yes, I know how slow the build-up is. :P I guess I just want to keep the story flowing naturally, too much perhaps.**

**So, thanks for the reviews! They are really helpful and I promise to improve when I write future chapters. :)**

"What did this guy work as again?" Remy asked as they stepped into a luxurious house in an affluent neighbourhood. She moved her sunglasses up onto her head to get a clearer look around.

"He was an investment banker." Sherman replied flatly. "I don't get these people. Spending money on all this crap." He added, spreading out his arms in a gesture to the surrounding. The interior was furnished with high-priced modern furniture as well as priceless antiques.

"Well, _expensive_ crap." Remy pointed out.

They climbed the stairway up to the second storey where the body was found. They entered the bedroom which was equally well-furnished as the rest of the house. As usual, investigators from the crime lab were looking around as they searched for evidence.

The body laid topless a few feet away from the bed. White foam dribbled out from the corner of the victim's mouth, his arms and legs sprawled out. There was also a gash on his forehead with blood trickling down his temple. They walked up to Allison, who was examining the body. Remy's heart fluttered at the sight of the blonde medical examiner, a feeling that she was still trying to get used to.

Remy was approaching from behind when Allison suddenly stood up and turned, bumping right into her. She jumped back a step instinctively.

"Oh Jesus." Allison breathed out, placing her gloved-hand on her chest. She could feel her heart racing from the scare. She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves down.

"I'm sorry." She apologized after opening her eyes and saw Remy staring down at her. Or at least, she thought so. She mentally braced herself for a telling off.

"It's okay." Remy responded, shrugging the incident off. The casual response earned stunned stares from both Allison and Sherman.

"Ah... I left something back in the car, I'll have to go get it. Excuse me." Allison said after blinking away her surprise. Remy simply nodded and sidestepped to give way. She watched on as Allison walked out of the bedroom.

"It's _okay?_" Sherman asked incredulously, his facial expression matching the disbelief in his voice.

"It's just a bump. No big deal." Remy replied nonchalantly, turning back to her partner. "In fact, we didn't even touch each other." She added on second thought.

"No big deal? The last time she bumped in you, you told her to grow eyes." Sherman rejoined. He remembered how angry the comment made Allison. That eventually developed into one of the most heated encounters between them of all time.

"What?" Remy squealed. "I did _not_ say that." She frowned in thought as she tried to recall that particular incident. Now that she had realized her feelings for Allison, she was finding it hard to even imagine all the hurtful things she had said to her before.

"Oh yes, you did." Sherman nodded dramatically. Remy was about to respond but decided against it when she saw Allison walking back into the bedroom from the corner of her eyes.

Allison took a glance at Remy as she walked past her. She could feel there was something very different about her behaviour. The air around her seemed more relaxed and the way she looked at her appeared to have softened considerably. They were most definitely getting under her skin.

She kneeled down next to the body and measured its temperature with the special thermometer she had just went to take from her car.

"So Dr. Cameron, you got anything for us?" Remy asked, her voice shaking slightly. She was feeling nervous just by talking to her.

"Well, body temperature indicates the victim's been dead since around midnight." Allison answered as she read the scale on the thermometer. "No visible physical trauma except for the laceration on his forehead. Probably hit his head on the nightstand as he collapsed." She gestured towards the red splodge on the edge of the nightstand in front of her. "Most likely cause of death is poison or overdose. I'll know more after I perform the autopsy."

"Thanks." Remy said, earning another round of stunned stares from Allison and Sherman. She turned her head away slightly from the attention, scratching the back of her neck with her left hand.

* * *

"_Thanks?_" Sherman asked for the third time, mimicking the tone he used earlier. He was driving as they made their way back to the precinct.

"Can you stop that?" Remy questioned annoyingly.

"_Thanks?_ I mean, what's up with that? You never said thanks to Cameron before. _Ever._" Sherman continued, ignoring Remy completely. He was stumped by his partner's sudden niceness to the person she had claimed to detest the most. "Even when she helped us crack-"

"I thought you've always wanted me to be nice to her. Now that I actually am, you are all over me. And might I add, in a _really_ annoying way." Remy interrupted, shooting Sherman an irritated look. She couldn't possibly tell her best friend the truth that she was having a crush on his crush.

"I did! But now that you're actually doing it, seems kinda... creepy." Sherman replied sheepishly. Remy gave him a smack to the side of his head in response, causing him to lose control of the car for a brief second.

"Owww!" He took one hand off the steering wheel after guiding the car back to the right lane, placing it on the side of head. "Did you want to get into a car accident?" Sherman barked.

"Sorry." Remy mumbled. She pouted as she wondered if Allison had thought that she was creepy too.

She reached out her hand to Sherman and he flinched immediately. "Relax. I'm not going to hit you." She assured, batting his hand away from his head. She replaced it with her own, rubbing the area she had smacked him. "So what, you don't want me to be nice to her?"

"Yeah." Sherman answered. Remy ceased her hand movement, staring incredulously at him. He shrinked away from the contact. "Okay, you need to get your hand away from me." He added, fearing a reoccurrence of the beating. He felt safe enough to continue when Remy retracted her hand. "It just seems to me that you are suppressing your feelings. I fear for humanity when the two of you finally explode."

In her mind, Remy had an entirely different take on the scenario of explosion with Allison. She could feel her cheeks burned at the thought. She shook it off quickly before the images got even more explicit.

"I guess I'm just tired of the squabbling. From now on, I'm just gonna take her as she comes." Remy paused after realizing what she had just implied.

This time, her mind was powerless to the onslaught of explicit images. She struggled to banish them from her head. Her body temperature was rising significantly. Her breathing becoming laboured. She stared blankly ahead of her with her attention focused solely on her R-rated thoughts.

Sherman nodded thoughtfully as he drove into an empty parking space outside the precinct, oblivious to the mental 'distress' his partner was undergoing next to him.


	9. Chapter 9

"You're not going?" Remy almost exclaimed.

"I'll meet you afterwards. You know how it is with Fletcher. He's always getting into trouble at school." Sherman explained as he put on his blazer. He had just gotten a call from his kid brother's principal after he got into another fight. His sixth one since the new school semester started.

"But I'm gonna be alone with Cameron." She whined. Remy wasn't sure if she was ready to handle facing Allison alone since she just had a sexual daydream about the blonde medical examiner only a couple hours ago, which she hadn't quite work off.

"I know you hate it, but you said you wanna try to patch things up with her. This could be a good opportunity to do just that." Sherman replied, grabbing his belongings off the desk. "Just be nice... Not creepy." He scampered off quickly, narrowly dodging a pencil Remy threw after him.

Remy groaned in frustration, for more reasons than one. After spending more than twenty minutes psyching herself up, she pushed herself off her seat and strode doggedly towards the office door with her car key in hand. _I can do this._

_

* * *

_

_I can't do this._ Remy stood outside the morgue in San Francisco General Hospital, staring blankly at its double-door. She had been standing there for quite a while now and was already earning odd looks from passersby. However, she was too absorbed in her own mind to pay any attention to her surroundings.

She ran her left hand through her hair, debating internally on whether she should wait for Sherman even though he might not be back for another couple of hours. The thought of delaying a murder investigation, on the other hand, wasn't appealing. Remy clutched onto that thought in her mind like a lifeline as she pushed open the double-door and stepped into the morgue. She only managed one single step as she chickened out at the very last minute. What she didn't expect was for the double-door to swing right back at her, knocking her backwards and out the morgue.

Allison raised her head when the double-door swung in, catching her attention. She caught a glimpse of a familiar figure before it disappeared behind the door. Her facial expression was one mixed with amusement and bafflement. She continued staring at the entrance in wait.

Remy cursed under her breath at the throbbing pain in her right shoulder and also for behaving like an idiot. She took a moment to compose herself before entering the morgue again. When she saw Allison staring at her, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. This time, she managed to stop the door from swinging back at her by putting her hand on it.

"Where's Detective Marshall?" Allison asked curiously, her eyebrows turning upwards.

The question barely registered in Remy's mind. She was thinking about how adorable Allison looked in her glasses and yellow scrubs, something that she had failed to appreciate a hundred times before. Her heart was pumping warm blood rapidly throughout her body, which only served to aggravate her situation. She wriggled slightly in her clothes.

"He, ah..." She had to clear her throat to remove the lump of air that was caught before she could continue. "He has this personal thing to deal with." She said as she began to walk further into the morgue.

"So, it's just the two of us." The notion seemed more real to Allison now that she had said it out loud. She looked away from the brunette detective and back to the opened body she was examining, suddenly overwhelmed by nervousness. She took in a deep breath to settle her nerves as she tried to focus her attention back to her job.

Remy stood on the opposite side of the metal table, in front of the blonde medical examiner. She grimaced at the bloody sight. The body was cut open, revealing the mess of internal organs within and the top of the victim's head was removed to expose the brain.

"Did you find anything?" She asked softly. The softness of her voice gave Allison shivers down her spine, in an oddly pleasurable way. She couldn't help but notice that Remy was making the effort to be nice even though it did seem a little peculiar.

"Erm, I ran a tox screen." Allison went over to her desk to get the results, then passing it to Remy. "It shows the victim had a high level of alcohol and restoril in his system. There was also internal haemorrhaging in his brain, which_ is_ the primary cause of death. The victim was probably disoriented from the combination of drug and alcohol, hit his head on the nightstand as he fell."

"So this was just an unfortunate accident?" Remy asked with slight disbelief.

"Could be. But based on the amount of restoril in his system, I would say someone tried to poison him. It's worth looking into." Allison answered, offering her professional opinion. She studied Remy as she read the results of the tox screen. She smiled a little when Remy furrowed her eyebrows at something profound on the paper. Without the lackadaisical attitude, she was certainly not a bad company to be with. They had gotten off on the wrong foot, something she felt responsible for, and things had unwittingly escalated from then on.

Remy nodded thoughtfully. "Thanks." She said, giving a polite smile afterwards. When the smile was returned in kind, she dropped her head to hide her no doubt reddening cheeks. The physical reactions that Allison managed to bring forth on her with simple gestures were unbelievable. It seemed like a long time ago to her when she was fighting with the very same person. She suddenly realized she had by no means apologized to Allison.

"I'm sorry." They said simultaneously, staring at one another for a few seconds before laughing in embarrassment.

Remy kept her eyes locked on Allison, admiring the way her delicate face brightened up and her crystal blue eyes twinkled when she laughed. She was absolutely beautiful in every single way.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you." Allison spoke once the laughter died down.

"Which time?" Remy asked teasingly.

"The first time." Allison chuckled. "It only got worse from there."

"Does that mean you apologize for everything that happened after?" Remy questioned slyly, arching her eyebrow in suggestion.

"Don't push it." Allison narrowed her eyes playfully at Remy, who laughed out in response.

"Okay, I might have also been less than amiable with you since we've known each other. And for that, I'm sorry." Remy replied while trying to keep a straight face.

"_Might?_" Allison repeated in a tone of mock disbelief. "Actually... I felt really bad for what I said the last time you were here." She continued in a soft voice. Her cheery expression was replaced by one of remorse. She lowered her head and started playing with a loose string on her scrubs.

Remy's heart almost broke at seeing the vulnerability shown by the blonde. "Hey." She called out quietly, waiting for Allison to look up before carrying on. "It's alright. I'm not angry. Well, maybe a little." She admitted after Allison gave her a sceptical look. "But not anymore. If you want to apologize, you should probably apologize to Sherman. He had to listen to me rant about it."

"Thanks." Allison nodded and smiled gratefully. She was seeing Remy in a whole new light. Picturing the gentleness behind her tough facade once seemed impossible, but now it appeared to be the most natural thing in the world.

"About that, I've been wanting to ask... how did you know?" Remy asked hesitantly, fearing the answer.

Allison scratched her temple, contemplating the way to reveal the incident without embarrassing Remy. "I think it was just after the case of Bobby MacDonald. I saw- I had just stepped out of my apartment and I sort of saw you got thrown out by my neighbour down the hall. So I just assumed..."

"Oh god." Remy covered her eyes with her good hand, too humiliated to look at Allison. The worst part was that she didn't even remember.

"That was actually quite a while ago." Allison replied, feeling a pang of sympathy for the embarrassed Remy. "Let's just put everything behind us and start over, shall we?" She asked.

Remy stared at her inquisitively, wondering what she had in mind.

She smiled sweetly and stuck out her hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Allison Cameron."

**This is the longest chapter yet and ********j**ust for the record, I hadn't meant for them to reconcile their differences in this chapter but at the end of this new case instead. That would have taken another few chapters. :P

**It's kinda fast for me but the chapter seemed to just write itself, so I decided to go along with it. :)  
**


	10. Chapter 10

"Hey, how's Fletcher?" Remy asked in concern once Sherman reached their desk, having just came back from his kid brother's school.

He heaved a sigh. "He got suspended for a week. And that wasn't the worse part. I had to get Penelope to babysit him until I get home."

"Wait. Penelope as in your creepy and totally-obsess-with-you landlord, Penelope?" Remy burst into laughter as soon as Sherman nodded. He tried silencing her with a glare, but to no avail. She continued to laugh uncontrollably, holding her stomach.

"Laugh all you want, since I assume your visit to Dr. Cameron didn't go very well." He had a self-satisfied smirk on his face when the laughter from the other side of the desk died out.

What Sherman didn't expect however, was for the mirth to turn into an adoring smile. "Actually, it went very well." The tables were now turned, with Remy spotting a self-satisfied smirk.

"Seriously?" He asked incredulously.

"Oh yeah. We made peace." Remy replied contentedly. She smiled as she thought back to the encounter. She could still remember the feel of Allison's soft delicate skin when she took her outstretched hand. The tidal wave of emotions that surged throughout her from that mere touch was absolutely exhilarating.

"Seriously?" Sherman asked again, doubling the disbelief in his voice. "Wow, this is unexpected. I never thought I'd live to see the day."

"Well, you did. Let's go. We're going banking." Remy said in mock excitement, standing up and gathering her belongings together.

"Can't you at least wait till my sweat dries up?" Sherman let out a tired breath.

"I could. But what torture would that be for you?" Remy smiled mischievously at him before walking towards the door with a skip in her steps.

* * *

They stepped into the lobby of a corporate building in Financial District and approached the reception counter.

"Excuse me, we're looking for Ter-" The redheaded receptionist held out an index finger, silencing Remy while she spoke into the microphone of the headset she was wearing.

Remy turned to the side to look at Sherman with an annoyed expression, drumming her fingers on the marble counter impatiently. When the redhead continued to ramble on about some designer shoes, Remy played her triumph card by flashing her badge. She arched an eyebrow as if daring the redhead to carry on with her brainless conversation.

"I am so sorry. How can I help you, Detective?" The redhead asked after disconnecting her phone call, smiling pretentiously.

"We're looking for Terrence Lunsford." Remy answered in a monotone.

"Mr. Lunsford is on the thirty-first floor. The elevators are this way." The redhead extended her hand to indicate to the direction.

"Thanks." Remy replied, smiling pretentiously.

"Bitch." She said under her breath after the two of them had turned and walked away, heading for the elevators. Sherman bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from laughing out loud.

* * *

"Hi Detectives, I'm Terrence Lunsford, CEO of West Coast Investment Bank." The white-haired, square-jawed man in a no doubt expensive suit greeted. "This is Josephine Kaufman, our new Managing Executive." He gestured to the dark-haired woman beside him.

"Managing Executive? Isn't that the position Devin was just promoted to?" Sherman questioned.

"Yes. Mr. Nolan was supposed to be our new Managing Executive but because of that unfortunate accident..." Mr. Lunsford sighed.

"Where were you yesterday around midnight, Ms. Kaufman?" Remy probed. The woman was currently leading her mental list of prime suspects.

"I was at home alone, reading and relaxing. It's a _very _stressful job." She answered placidly. Remy unknowingly entered into a staring contest with Josephine. She slowly broke away her gaze when Sherman spoke.

"Did Devin had any close friends who would know where he went before the incident?" He asked.

"Yes, he had a few good friends. Fellow bankers. I can bring you to them, if you want." Josephine smiled in a way that made Remy shivered.

"Sure. That'll be great." Sherman replied, seemingly unaware of the creepy vibes which his partner had sensed coming from her.

They took the elevator down to the thirteenth floor. Compared to the environment upstairs, the two of them were like chalk and cheese. The hustle and bustle in this office level was unmistakable. Josephine led them through rows of desks, all the way to the other side of the floor.

"Gentlemen, this is Detective Hadley and Detective Marshall." Josephine introduced to a group of well-dressed men, who were talking amongst themselves by the water cooler.

"Are you here to investigate Devin's death?" One of the men asked. His colleague next to him checked Remy out rather unsubtly, sending her his version of a smouldering look. Remy grimaced in both annoyance and disgust before looking away, totally unsparing of his feelings.

"Yes. We'd like to know where he went before he was killed." Sherman replied.

"Well, actually we were with him at a club down in North Beach. We were celebrating his promotion." The same man answered with a sheepish expression. "But we were all drunk. We passed out in a hotel nearby. All we know is Devin wasn't with us when we woke up."

"Which club?" Remy queried. "And we also need to know the name of the hotel."

"We went to Jugs and then checked into Hotel 1984." The man said as Sherman wrote down the information on his notepad.

"Thanks, gentlemen. That'll be all for now." Sherman closed the notepad and put it into the pocket located at the inside of his blazer.

"I'll walk you out." Josephine led the way and the two detectives followed a few steps behind.

They took the elevator down to the lobby, escorted by Josephine to the exit. "Good luck for your investigation, Detectives." She said when they stopped at the door. Remy thought she heard a trace of challenge in the tone and frowned slightly.

"Thank you, Ms. Kaufman. Have a good day." Sherman smiled politely, watching Josephine walked away. He couldn't deny that he was at least a little smitten by the dark-haired woman.

Remy slapped his face lightly from the side, jolting him out of his trance. "Hey! Why did you do that?" He exclaimed, rubbing his cheek with his hand.

"You were ogling." She replied flatly as she turned to the door. Sherman twisted his mouth to a side in response.

They got into the black BMW coupe parked on the side of the road. "Let's head down to the hotel. See if the men's alibis check out." Remy proposed, buckling the seatbelt in the passenger seat.

"Yeah. Then we can check out Jugs." Sherman said with an animated expression. "Maybe we can ask Cameron to come along since, you know, the two of you have already made nice." He shrugged.

"To a topless bar?" Remy snapped her head to the side to look at Sherman. As soon as the question left her mouth, Remy's mind went into a standstill with an image of a half-naked Allison. The product of Cameron + topless, when her mind did the math. _That is a really __bad idea._

**Hit my first milestone, it's the tenth chapter! :D Please pardon my silly excitement.  
**

**Anyway, the character Josephine Kaufman is _loosely_ based on Valerie, the psychopath patient from the episode Remorse in the sixth season of House, played by Beau Garrett.  
**


	11. Chapter 11

Remy sat on the hood of the car, kicking the tyre beneath with the back of her foot while Sherman stood beside her, playing some random beats on the roof of the car with his hands. They were about a block away from Jugs, waiting patiently for Allison to arrive.

They had come straight from Hotel 1984. The hotel's receptionists and manager had confirmed that Devin's colleagues did indeed checked into their hotel room around the time of death. Apparently, they had made an impression by being drunkards.

"I can't believe you actually called her. And I can't believe she actually said okay." Remy grumbled, frowning in annoyance. She had thought Sherman was kidding when he made the suggestion.

"I told you I was going to call her. And so I did." Sherman replied. Remy let out a noisy breath in response. "Since you two aren't fighting anymore, I wanna try to spend as much time as possible with her." He continued, having always been somewhat hesitant about pursuing Allison because of Remy. At hearing that, Remy's insides twisted in guilt and they slipped into silence.

Around thirty seconds later, a sliver hybrid drove into the empty parking space behind their black coupe. Remy hopped off the hood immediately, straightening out her appearance afterwards. In front of her, Sherman was doing the same thing.

Allison was a little taken aback when Sherman had called to ask if she wanted to join them in the investigation at Jugs. She figured she might as well, since she had the night free and the opportunity to see a certain brunette detective was simply too good to pass up. She got out of her car and smiled in greeting as she walked up to the two detectives. Her smile weakened when she noticed something different about Remy.

"Why isn't your arm in a sling?" Allison asked in concern, knitting her eyebrows. She moved to place a hand on Remy's upper arm.

Remy inhaled a sharp breath at the gentle touch.

"My shoulder doesn't hurt anymore, so I took it off." She answered with a sheepish expression, rubbing her right shoulder in reflex. She bit down on her lower lip to force away the grin that was threatening to envelop her face.

"You could at least wait until your follow-up appointment to do that." Allison chastised quietly as she unconsciously stroked Remy's arm with her thumb. Each stroke made Remy's heart pounded more. She tried to keep her breathing controlled. Her entire body was reacting to that one single touch, driving her towards insanity.

Sherman observed their interaction with his jaw hanging. The scene unfolding before him was much too surreal. "This is..." He trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief. "I can't find any words to describe this."

"Don't be such a drama queen, Sherry." Remy rejoined, earning a chuckle from Allison. Teal eyes met blue ones in amusement and both of them blushed at the eye contact.

"You did not just call me _that_, Hadley." Sherman seethed. He hated the nickname since he was young and Remy knew better than to call him that.

"Did not just call you what?" Remy asked challengingly.

Sherman chose to stomp towards the club instead of answering. "What did I say about being a drama queen?" Remy yelled teasingly after him.

Allison smiled as she stared adoringly at Remy, thoroughly enjoying the playful side of the brunette whose serious side she had witnessed much too often. They walked side-by-side, following behind Sherman. Their closeness resulted in the occasional brushing of arms, which were followed by the exchange of shy glances and smiles.

The words of Sherman kept repeating itself inside her head, preventing Remy from being able to fully enjoy the company of the blonde.

* * *

"I feel like I'm in heaven." Sherman breathed out when the three of them had stepped into the club. He was feeling like a kid in a candy store. Scantily-clad women were performing striptease on the stage and topless waitresses were serving the customers. Smell of cigars filled the air.

_I feel like I'm in hell._ Remy pinched the bridge of her nose. Her pent-up sexual frustration was bubbling to the surface. She mentally cursed herself at the inability to control her hormones. One of the waitresses walked past them and gave her a wink. _Damn you, Satan._

In contrast to her two companions, Allison wasn't quite sure what to make of the whole scenario, which looked like an act straight out of an episode of Mad Men. She inched closer to Remy when a bald man seated in the table diagonally in front of them smirked at her, licking his lips perversely as he violated her using his eyes which was extremely strange, since he was surrounded by countless of exposed girls.

Remy gasped and stiffened when she felt Allison's side pressed gently against hers. All of her nerves and senses were on the verge of going into overdrive. _Do you know what you're doing to me?_

She cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Let's head to the bar." She forced out. She desperately needed a distraction.

"What can I get for you, ladies and gentleman?" The bartender asked courteously as they approached him.

Remy held up her badge, getting right down to business. "Did you see this guy last night? He was with a group of men, probably in suits." She questioned, showing the bartender a photo of Devin Nolan.

"Yeah, I sure did. He and his gang were sitting in the booth right over there." He made a gesture towards the corner of the club. "They were throwing money around like they owned this place."

"Did you see him leave?" She asked after giving Sherman an irritated sideways stare. _Whatever happened to spending time with Cameron? _He was presently engrossed with the performance on stage.

"Yeah, some smokin' hot chick came in here and then left with him." He answered. "Hey, Deborah! Come get these." He yelled out to a busty brunette at the centre of the club. Remy's attention was diverted away momentarily when she walked up to the bar counter, but managed to recover in time without looking leery.

Allison noticed the subtle peep, causing her cheeks to turn crimson and her heartbeat to double. Her breathing became heavier when she imagined Remy looking at her in that way.

"Can you describe her?" Sherman asked, finally turning back to the investigation once the performance had ended.

"Not really. But one of the cameras in the club most probably captured her." The bartender disappeared into the back room before coming out a couple of minutes later with a box full of tapes. He lifted them up onto the counter. "Knock yourselves out."

"Right. Thanks." Remy said as Sherman took the box into his hands and they headed towards the door. He turned back when they reached the exit, taking one final look at heaven before stepping out of Jugs.

Remy breathed out a sigh of relief once the exited the club. The entire process had been pure torture.

The three of them walked in silent to their cars, each occupied with their own thoughts. Remy was thinking about the blonde medical examiner walking beside her. Allison was thinking about the brunette detective walking next to her. Sherman was thinking about, well, the topless girls back in the club.

"Thanks for coming along with us, Dr. Cameron." Sherman smiled politely. He opened the door to the backseat of the car and put the box of tapes inside.

Remy and Allison shared a look. The disappointment in their eyes was evident. They had wasted six months arguing about nothing in particular and now that they had moved on, the time they spent together just didn't seem enough.

"My pleasure." Allison replied, forcing a smile back. Her smile quickly turned into a horrified expression.

Remy's mouth hung loose, her eyes widening comically. _She did not just say that._

**I apologized if I'd made Remy a little too hormonal in these few chapters with all the inappropriate thoughts, reactions and all. XD**

**But I'm sure everyone can understand, especially if you like someone as sweet and hot as Allison is. It's only natural.  
**


	12. Chapter 12

"Why didn't you tell us you were with Devin Nolan the night he was killed?" Remy questioned. Her expression demanding.

"You didn't ask." Was the placid reply that came.

Remy clenched her jaw in frustration as she stared at the dark-haired woman seated opposite her. She was in the interview room questioning the suspect while Sherman watched from the observation room next door through the one-way mirror. After spending one whole night looking through the tapes from Jugs, they had found the mystery woman who left with their victim. And they had met her before.

"What do you mean I didn't ask? That was the first question out of my mouth." Remy retorted, narrowing one of her eyes.

"No, it wasn't. You asked where I was around midnight that day. I was at home like I said before." Josephine Kaufman shot back.

"So what? You just didn't think to mention that to us? You were the last person to be with him!" Remy raised her voice.

"It's my life, I choose what I want to say. I'm very much like you Detective Hadley. A private person." Josephine replied coolly, meeting Remy's stare audaciously.

Remy frowned and shook her head slightly. "You don't know anything about me."

Josephine smiled in a spine-chilling way. "I know more about you than you know about yourself."

Remy laughed out of amusement. "I really don't think so."

"Well, let me explain then. You lead a life of abandonment and loneliness. Most of the time you're just going through the motions. You rarely make a connection with people, so you replace the gaping hole in your heart with meaningless one-night stands. You surround yourself with death to numb yourself to the idea of dying. The tough facade is actually a mask for the little lost girl that you really are. How am I doing so far, _Remy_?" Josephine smirked in self-satisfactory.

Remy's urge to strangle the woman right there grew stronger by the second as Josephine went on with her deduction. She must had did a background check on her to know this much. "You're wrong. About everything." She remained calm, not about to be pulled into the mind game that Josephine was tempting her to play. On the other hand, she could feel her blood boiling.

"Denial's not good for you, Remy." The dark-haired woman continued to taunt. She was getting slightly frustrated that her attempt to derail the brunette detective had fallen flat.

"It's Detective Hadley. And thanks for your concern. So, what happened after you left Jugs with Devin Nolan?" Remy asked, getting back on track with the interrogation. She had plenty of training when it came to suppressing her true emotions. Josephine would have to work a little harder.

Josephine let out a defeated sigh. "We went back to his house, drank a little and then I went back home." Her expression defiant.

"But not before you poisoned him." Remy responded.

"That's a very strong accusation, Detective Hadley. Now, you either charge me with murder or let me go." Josephine replied, glaring hatefully.

"You're not going anywhere." Remy stated firmly. She stood up from her seat and walked out the door. Once she had closed the door behind her, she squeezed her eyes shut and exhaled an exasperated breath. Josephine had completely seen right through her.

She took a few steps down the corridor and entered the observation room. She stopped dead in her tracks after she had opened the door. There were two occupants in the room. "What are you doing here?" Remy blurted out.

"I dropped by to see if you guys have found anything yet. I was told you are questioning the suspect, so I came in here." Allison explained, wearing an apologetic expression. She was astounded by the revelation she heard and wondered how much of it was true. When she turned to Sherman for answers, he was straight-faced and chose to remain silent.

Remy nodded thoughtfully as she stepped fully into the room. She wasn't sure how long Allison had been in here, she just hoped she hadn't been in here long enough to have heard what Josephine said.

"Remy, you know we can't keep her here right? We have no evidence that she did it." Sherman reminded.

"I know. But something in my gut is telling me that she did it. I'm not gonna just let her go." Remy replied, frowning in thought. There had got to be something that they had missed. "Sherman, you try to get a warrant to search her house. Cameron, I need you to re-examine the victim's body again, see if there's anything that might be able to help us." The two of them nodded.

"What about you? What are you gonna do?" Allison asked just as Remy was turning away.

"I'll go back to the crime scene. Maybe she left something behind. I just gotta find it." Remy answered hurriedly before getting out of the room.

* * *

Remy had been searching through the house of the victim for the last couple of hours and came out empty-handed. She had gotten a call from Sherman not long ago and he told her that they might have to wait on getting that search warrant.

She stood numbly in the middle of the gloomy living room, completely exhausted. She hadn't slept for over thirty hours. The sudden roar of thunder jolted Remy out of her daze. She looked out the glass walls to see the rain continuing to pour down from the sky.

It was moments like this that Remy hated the most. Alone, helpless and hopeless. She clenched her jaw and banished those feelings for the umpteenth time in her life. She wiped beads of sweat off her forehead using her sleeve.

_This is going nowhere. _She practically ripped off the latex gloves she was wearing and stuffed it into the forensic kit on the carpeted floor. She kneeled down and packed all the things together, getting ready to leave. She could only hope that they find something in Josephine's house, which would point her to the murder.

Remy slammed the kit shut and stood up, clutching its handle tightly. When she raised her head, the sight before her made her heart skipped a beat.

**It's a rather short chapter, but it just felt right to end here. XP**

**I still can't sleep. And it's 4.40 a.m.!**


	13. Chapter 13

She was like the light at the end of the tunnel.

Remy's heart thumped against her chest. She could feel its muscles constricting painfully then loosening for a brief second before the process was repeated again and again, sending surge after surge of lukewarm blood streaming through her entire body. Suddenly, she didn't feel so alone, so helpless and so hopeless anymore.

Allison ran a trembling hand through her dampened blonde hair as she stood at the front door, drenched. She had been standing outside the door for about five minutes, looking through the window as torrents of rain came down on her, when she at last decided to step into the house. The sight of the figure of despondence and forlornness that stood alone inside was heart-wrenching.

Remy slowly took a few steps towards Allison. The forensic kit in her hand seemed to have become heavier all of the sudden. "What are you doing here?" She asked tentatively in a whisper.

"I came to tell you I couldn't find anything else on the body. And also see if you need some help." Allison answered, her voice shaky. She hugged herself, rubbing up and down her upper arms with her hands to generate some warmth. Her clothes were wringing wet, sticking onto her slim body. Droplets of water dripped down from face and the tips of her hair.

"My god, Cameron, you're shivering." Remy hunkered down a little to place the kit on the ground. She hurriedly closed the distance between them while taking off her jacket. She stopped right in front of Allison and threw the jacket over her shoulders, tugging at the collar afterwards.

Allison looked up at Remy, her eyes wandered the expanse of the brunette's flawless features before settling on the tiny scar on her right cheek. She brought a hand up to hold her face, feeling jaw muscles beneath flexed instantly in response. She then caressed the scar tenderly with her thumb, leaving wet trails across her cheek.

Remy looked down at Allison, brushing strands of moistened hair away from the blonde's delicate porcelain face. She watched as Allison's eyes fluttered close when her fingertips grazed the soft wet skin. She gently traced her jaw-line down to the chin, then continuing the path downwards to her neck, stopping at the sternum, fully exploiting the V-neck she was wearing. Beads of moisture hitched a ride on her fingertips, slowly dribbling down her own hand. Her breathing getting shallower by the second.

Allison's chest rose and fell. She opened her eyes when the movement stopped. The sensual grazing had sent shudders of pleasure down her spine. Remy smirked ever so slightly when she saw dilated pupils looking back at her. She knew they must have been the reflection of her own ones as well.

She flattened her palm on Allison's sternum, slowly moving upwards past her collarbone to the back of her neck. Her other arm slid around the side of her waist, feeling abdominal muscles tensed up immediately. Her eyes alternated between Allison's darkened eyes and her salacious lips. Remy was being overwhelmed by everything that was Allison Cameron; she never wanted anyone else more.

Allison's breath hitched when Remy began to lean in. She closed her eyes slowly and lips parted in anticipation.

"Do you like me, Allison?" Remy asked huskily, her lips brushing against Allison's with each word.

Allison opened her eyes upon hearing her name, which was spoken with intense desire and plead at the same time. It made her heart itched. Remy was watching her through heavy lidded eyes. The pleasant warmth of Remy's body, the gentle caress at the back of her neck, the tender touch on her waist and everything that was Remy Hadley suddenly became too much for Allison; she never craved for anyone this much before, let alone for a woman. Foregoing verbal response, Allison crashed her lips onto Remy's.

Remy returned the kiss enthusiastically. Something nagged at her in the back of her head, but she was too far gone to acknowledge it. Her left hand slid up Allison's neck to tangle in the mass of damp blonde hair, her right hand moved to rest on the small of her back and pulled her soaked body closer. She had never felt happier.

Allison emitted strangled grunt into the kiss when their bodies pressed up firmly against each others'. She didn't really know how she felt about Remy, but she knew she needed her right now. One of her hands was placed at the back of Remy's head while the other rested on her hip. She allowed herself to be completely dominated by Remy. She had never felt safer.

The kiss was soft yet firm, tender yet fervent. It soon turned demanding as their need took over. Remy ran her tongue along Allison's upper lip in an attempt to deepen the kiss and was granted instant access. Tongues met unreservedly as they took turns exploring, savouring. They were engulfed in the sweltering heat of passion. This was nothing like what they had experienced before.

These couple of days had been torturous for Remy. She felt like she was on fire. She was beyond desperate for the need of bare body contact, there were just too much cloth obstacles between them. She slipped the jacket off of the blonde and let one of her hands creep under the shirt, roaming the around her lower back. The feel of wet, smooth skin elicited a gratifying moan from Remy.

Allison arched her back in reflex, pressing herself further onto the brunette. Their kiss was getting increasingly passionate and deep. The tiniest amount of self-control left inside Allison made its presence known. It took all of her willpower to pull away from the kiss. She rested her forehead against Remy's as the both of them tried to catch their breaths, all the while still in each other's embrace. Remy opened her eyes and looked inquisitively at Allison, not sure why she had pulled away.

"We can't do it in a crime scene." Allison whispered, answering the silent question.

Remy was stumped for a moment before comprehension fully dawned on her. She let out a breathy laugh. "Right. I totally forgot where we are." She chuckled in embarrassment, slowly removing her hand from under Allison's shirt and placing it on her waist.

"I think we need to talk." Allison spoke softly, playing absentmindedly with ends of Remy's hair. There were so many thoughts running through her head at that moment, she needed time to address each of them. Everything between them had moved so fast, it was almost blinding. But then again, it could be as easily interpreted as being six months in the making.

Remy nodded understandingly, totally aware that her previous question hadn't been answered. "Yeah. Maybe after this case? I really want to nail that bitch." She breathed out.

Allison burst into laughter at the unexpectedly funny boorish declaration and she hid her reddening face in the crook of Remy's neck. When her laughter died out, she sighed blissfully into the embrace. Remy tightened her hold in response. Unbeknownst to the both of them, they were having the exact same thought at that moment - they didn't want to be anywhere else but here, in the arms of each other. After busking in the warmth for a few moments longer, she took half a step backwards, pulling away from Remy. Their hands reluctantly slipped off of one another.

"We better go, if you want to nail that bitch sooner rather than later." She said, tugging her half-wet and half-dry hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, we should." Remy forced a smile and looked away from Allison to hide her disappointment. She walked back to where she left the forensic kit and picked it up. She blew out a long breath, trying to subdue her frying nerves. With no release whatsoever, her body felt as if it was caught in a bottomless freefall.

They turned to the door and watched through the glass pane as rain continued to teem down. Their cars were parked on the side of the road, not far from the entrance to the house.

"Ready to make a run for it?" Remy asked with a twinkle of playfulness in her eyes.

"Absolutely." Allison replied, smiling brightly.

They stared at each other for a brief second as if making a silent promise before opening the door and dashing towards their cars. Remy came to an abrupt halt halfway through the footpath, rain pouring down on her relentlessly. She squinted her eyes to focus her sight on a surveillance camera across the street.

Allison was about to open the car door when she saw Remy standing on the footpath. "Remy, what are you doing!" She shouted, holding up the brunette's jacket with her hands over her head as a makeshift umbrella. When she got no response, she quickly ran back.

"What is it?" She asked, looking up at her questioningly.

"That camera." Allison's eyes followed the direction in which Remy was pointing. "I didn't see it before."

"Well, you see it now. Come on, get into your car!" Allison pulled Remy by the arm towards the metallic blue Audi that the brunette drove. She then scurried back to her own car once Remy got into hers.

Remy took out her phone as soon as she was settled in, pressing the speed dial number for Sherman. _That bitch is going down._

**My first writing of an intimate scene. I actually wrote this straight after I'd finished the last chapter, which was in the middle of the night. Imagine what I had to go through.**** XP**

**And also, I thought I should do something special for chapter Thirteen. Ah, please excuse my dorkiness.  
**


	14. Chapter 14

Sherman walked briskly towards the office. He had just come from the suspect's house and had a breakthrough find - two bottles of temazepam, trade named restoril. He was also holding a tape from the surveillance camera across the street from the victim's home, starring Josephine Kaufman.

Remy had a towel draped over her shoulders. She held a steaming cup of caffeine goodness in her hands, sipping contently. Allison stood close beside her in the pantry area with a towel hung over her head, leaning back on the counter as she warmed her hands with the hot mug of water she was holding.

"Hey! Look what I-" Sherman stopped and frowned when he saw the state the two women were in. "Why are the two of you wet?"

Remy spewed out the coffee in her mouth when she heard the double-meaning question. Sherman jumped back a few steps at the unexpected assault and then checked if there was any nasty brown stain on his clothes. He heaved a sigh of relief when he found none.

"What is the matter with you?" He scolded.

"Sorry." Remy said with a sheepish expression. "We, ah, got caught in the rain." She wiped her mouth clean with the end of the towel and stole a quick glance at Allison, who was blushing profusely as she tried to hide her flushed cheeks behind the mug by pretending she was drinking from it.

"Oh. Well, here." Sherman carefully sidestepped the drops of coffee on the floor and handed Remy the slider storage bag with two bottles of restoril and the tape that Gardner had obtained for them. Remy set down her cup and took them. "I found the bottles in her medicine cabinet. And I think you can guess who's on the tape."

"Where is she now?" Remy asked, pulling the towel off her shoulders and placing it on the counter.

"In the interview room. I just brought her back in." Sherman replied.

Remy gave a brief nod before stomping towards the aforementioned room, the evidence clutched tightly in her hands. Allison and Sherman followed not far behind her.

Once she reached the room, Remy shoved the door open. Josephine jumped in her seat when the door flew open violently, staring wide eye at the brunette detective who strode in. Remy tossed the evidence onto the table and pulled out the empty seat. She sat down with her back rested on the back support. She crossed her legs and folded her arms across her chest, a determined look on her face.

"You killed Devin Nolan." She stated plainly, staring straight into her opponent's eyes. "We found these bottles in your house. The tape is from a surveillance camera near Devin Nolan's home. And guess what? You're in it. The time stamp on the tape showed you left shortly after the time of death. Game's over, Josephine. Why don't you just come clean? Make it easier for everyone."

Josephine's lips quivered as the reality of her situation began sinking in, tears flooded her unimpressive eyes. "I didn't mean to kill him! It was an accident!" She cried, thrashing around slightly. "I only gave him those pills to make him sleep through the next morning so that he'd missed the meeting of the execs. I didn't know that was gonna happen, I swear to god, Detective Hadley!"

Remy remained unfazed at the desperate pleads. She stood up and walked around the table, taking out the handcuffs from the pouch at her waist. "Josephine Kaufman, you're now under arrest for constructive manslaughter."

* * *

"There she is!" Gardner exclaimed when Allison walked through the door into office, raising a beer up in the air. "Have one, Dr. Cameron." He grabbed one off the six-pack from the desk and passed it to her.

"Thanks." Allison smiled gratefully. She had gone back to the hospital to get clean up and settle the post-mortem report on the victim after Josephine was officially charged. She also found some time to sort out her thoughts and feelings before coming to a conclusion - she definitely liked Remy. She just wasn't sure how far her feelings actually went, but she was more than willing to find out.

The office was almost empty, saved for the four of them. Most of them having already left for the day. They were carrying out their custom of drinking celebratory beers after successfully solving yet another case and had invited Allison to come over to join them.

"I believe that Dr. Cameron is joining us in our tradition for the very first time, which is odd because she's such a wonderful person." Gardner announced to the small company. "But I think we all know the reason why." The three of them looked pointedly at Remy, who had her lips attached to the opening of the long-neck beer bottle.

Remy stared blankly back at them before rolling her eyes good-humouredly. "It's over." She said annoyingly after taking a gulp of the beer. "We're okay. Move on." She made a sweeping motion with her free hand, sharing a sweet smile with the blonde medical examiner afterwards. The rest chuckled lightly in response.

As Gardner was narrating one of his many anecdotes to Remy, Sherman seized the opportunity to ask Allison out. "So, Dr. Cameron, you doing anything tomorrow night? Maybe we can grab dinner together." He held a hopeful expression, praying hard that his request would be granted this time around.

Allison was at a loss for words. She glanced towards Remy, who was looking at them. The brunette detective made brief eye contact before looking away and seemingly turned her attention back to Gardner.

Remy wasn't listening to a word that the curly-hair brawny man in front of her was saying while gesturing animatedly, she was merely nodding distractedly at regular intervals. She knew that Allison was looking to her for help, but she had none to offer. She tried her best to ignore the pleading expression even though her heart was twitching.

Sherman followed Allison's line of sight to his partner and then it hit him. "Oh, I was thinking it'll be just the two of us. Since Remy's fine with you now, I was hoping..." He waited expectantly for an answer with an unassuming smile.

Allison passed her teeth over her lower lip and tugged her hair behind her ear, trying to think of a way out without hurting Sherman's feelings. She used to have a pretty obvious excuse for not wanting to go out with him and he had understandingly accepted it. She still had that excuse though, just in an entirely different context.

When Sherman saw the hesitation, his heart dropped. "It's okay if you don't want to. I just thou-"

"No, that's not it! It's just that I-" Allison sighed out in exasperation. "Sure, I'll have dinner with you."

"Seriously? That's great! I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow." Sherman replied excitedly.

Allison smiled back half-heartedly. She figured that she could actually make things clearer in private over dinner. She looked towards Remy again, but got no acknowledgement. She wanted nothing more than to reassure her that things weren't as it seemed.

When she heard what Allison had said, Remy felt heaps of emotions crashed down heavily on her already dead beat body. She downed the beer in her hand furiously because it was then she realized what the nagging at the back of her head was earlier when she was engaged in the passionate moment with Allison - she had betrayed Sherman, the one person in the world she had closest to being her family.

**I feel ****really ****bad for doing this, so please don't kill me. *raises two hands in the air***


	15. Chapter 15

Remy scarcely got enough sleep the previous night. Just when things were at last looking up between her and Allison, they had taken a turn for the worse. She let out a tired groan as she closed her eyes and rested her forehead on the steering wheel, her hands gripped loosely at the ten and two o'clock positions.

No matter how hard she tried, she simply couldn't seem to get the blonde out of her head. She was angry at Sherman for asking Allison out, she was angry at Allison for agreeing, but most importantly, she was angry at herself for feeling angry because she knew she had no right. She grudgingly lifted her head up and ran her hand through her hair. Bloodshot were apparent in her eyes, caused by the combination of a lack of sleep and the additional alcohol she consumed after she went back to her apartment.

She grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and the cup of coffee from the cup holder. She hesitated when she felt her phone vibrating in her bag for the eleventh time since last night, but chose to ignore it like the past ten times. She quickly got out of her car. She drank up the coffee as she made her way to the office, crushing the cup with her hand once she was done and then chucking it into the rubbish bin nearby. When she reached the entrance, Remy stopped for a while to take in a deep breath and put on her invisible mask.

"Hey." Remy greeted once she reached the desk, with as much energy as she could muster up.

"Hey... You look like crap." Sherman commented when he looked up from the paperwork he was doing, frowning.

"Thanks for the compliment." Remy replied with a hint of irritation.

"I was only joking!" Sherman said in self-defence. "Are you okay? You look really tired. Maybe you should take the day off, go home and get some rest."

Remy dragged out a sigh. "I'm sorry. I just didn't get much sleep last night, that's all. I'll be fine." She forced a smile. She pulled out some files from the drawer, hoping that work might help to get her mind off things.

"Okay, if you say so." Sherman narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his partner seated across the desk. He had known Remy long enough to know when something's up. "But you'll tell me right? If something's wrong?" He asked, his voice thick with concern.

Remy looked up at him from under her eyebrows. She almost hated him for being the wonderful guy that he was, but she knew she never could for anything. "Yeah, of course." She lied through her teeth. She clenched her jaw, bracing herself for what's probably going to be one of the longest days of her life.

Without a new case to work on, she was stuck in the office, filing paperwork. She glanced at her watch every few minutes, hoping that time would pass faster and get this insufferable day over with. She rubbed her temples to ward off the migraine, brought on by the streaming thoughts of Allison. She knew she wasn't supposed to be thinking about her, but she was losing control of her mind. Rather than resisting, she allowed herself to be thrust deeper into her own mental world while sparing just enough consciousness to focus on her work.

Before Remy knew it, another workday had come to an end. Frantic movements from the opposite side of the desk caught her attention.

"I need to hurry if I wanna to make in time for my date with Cameron." Sherman said when he noticed the puzzling look Remy was giving him. "I made a reservation at Daffodil Restaurant, pretty romantic isn't it?" He asked semi-rhetorically, a bright smile plastered on his face as he arranged his desk hurriedly, piling papers haphazardly on top of one another and stuffing unimportant materials into the drawers.

"Yeah." Remy breathed out softly. She was very nearly amused by his partner's clumsiness and decided to take pity on him. "Why don't you just leave them there? I'll help you with it later."

"Really? Alright, thanks a lot! I better go now." Sherman responded. He checked his briefcase to make sure he hadn't left out any of his belongings. He flashed a quick smile and gave a wave before jogging towards the exit.

"Good luck!" Remy yelled after him following a moment of hesitation. She exhaled a deflated breath and buried her face in her hands once Sherman was out of sight. She hadn't felt this alone in a long time.

* * *

Allison stood in front of the mirror in her apartment, checking her appearance even though she wasn't really all that much concern about it. She was just making sure she looked presentable at the very least. She glanced towards the clock on her nightstand. It was almost seven, which meant Sherman would be at her front door any minute now.

She sank heavily down onto her bed, her shoulders slumped as exhaustion finally caught up with her. She closed her eyes to grab a momentary break. She hadn't slept since she left the precinct last night, having lain in bed thinking about a certain brunette whom she knew she had hurt. She had left several messages to Remy on her phone, but none of them had been returned.

To make things worse, she could feel that she was coming down with some sort of sickness that most probably had resulted from being caught in the rain the previous day. The intense yearning to be back in Remy's arms was becoming painful as the memory of their passionate encounter flooded back into her mind. She had often been the one to comfort others - in her job, consoling grieving family members and friends who went down to the morgue to identify their deceased love ones and in her life, caring for people who were in need as well as those who were not. But with Remy, she was the one being enveloped in warmth and protected from harm. Knowing that she had hurt her, made her whole body crammed with unease.

Allison was so lost in her thoughts that she jumped up nearly an inch from the bed when there were a few knocks on her front door, her eyes shot open instantly. She took a second to settle her rattled nerves before grabbing her purse and walking out of her bedroom to answer the door.

She hesitantly opened the door to reveal a sharply dressed Sherman. "Hey." She greeted softly.

"Wow, Dr. Cameron, you look amazing." Sherman breathed out in awe, his eyes lighting up and his jaw hanging slightly.

Allison couldn't help but blush a little at the compliment. "You can call me Allison. And you don't look so bad yourself either." She smiled as pleasantly as she could, amidst all the emotions and thoughts she was having.

"Thanks." Sherman nodded and smiled nervously. "So, you ready to go?"

"Yeah, let's go." Allison stepped out of her apartment with heaviness in her chest because she knew that tonight, she was going to break someone's heart.

**Instead of jumping straight into the 'date' and get it over with (which I'm sure many of you, including yours truly :P, want), I thought I write out some of feelings that Remy and Allison went through prior to it.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Just a little info, I wrote this chapter in such a way that the first scene happens concurrently with the second one.**

Remy sat in the booth at the corner of the bar, downing her fifth tequila shot. Alone. It had been a couple of months since she had been in here, drinking herself into oblivion. She stopped her nightly activities after she began to experience unexplainable feelings around a certain blonde, which was when the thought of having mindless sex with random women and in very rare cases, men, just didn't seem that all appealing to her anymore.

She realized now that it was because there was only one person she wanted to be with and it was Allison Cameron. Even back then, she was already unconsciously falling in love with her. Remy smiled humourlessly to herself at her own ignorance. She signalled to a waitress close by for another round of shots once she had finished the last one on the table. Her mind was plagued with thoughts of Allison, whom she reckoned must be enjoying her dinner date with her best friend at the moment.

"Thanks." Remy said hoarsely when the waitress set down the narrow shot glasses. She knocked back three of the glasses in quick succession, trying to get as much alcohol as she could into her system.

Josephine Kaufman had been right about her being abandoned and alone. Her mother died when she was young and her father had become non-existent after that, she hadn't spoken a word to him since she went into the police academy ages ago. That was where she met Sherman who had stuck with her through thick and thin over the years, the only consistent and reliable presence in her life. For months, he had gushed about Allison and only asked her out on the occasions where their standoffs were mildly heated. Allison had rejected him every time because of her and he had put off his advances in consideration of her. And all it took her was a few minutes to toss him to the back of her head and be intimate with the very same person he adored.

Anger, frustration, guilt and pain were only a few of the emotions she was able to identity amongst the rest that she was feeling. She wolfed down the rest of the shots. Remy looked around the bar, searching for the pair of eyes that had been watching her for quite a while. She met a pair of green eyes, belonging to a flaxen-hair woman sitting on the stool at the bar counter. The thought of seeking out comfort with the stranger crossed her mind, but she quickly casted it out. She didn't want to feel good. She wanted to punish herself.

Remy slid out of the booth and stumbled out the exit. She stuffed both her hands in the pockets of her jacket, trying to find her car keys. She fumbled with them before finally getting the right one and inserting it into the keyhole of her car, parked at the side of the road. Her vision was becoming blurry and her surroundings started to spin. Once she had got into her car, she pulled the door shut forcefully and leaned her head back onto the headrest. She sincerely hoped Allison and Sherman could work out, even if it meant at her expense. Her eyes began to flutter close. Within seconds, darkness enveloped her.

* * *

Sherman chivalrously pulled out the seat for Allison before making his way across the small table to his chair.

"Thanks." Allison smiled amiably at the gentleman gesture.

The waiter laid down the menus in front of them, reciting the specials for the day as they skimmed through list of choices. He jotted down the orders as they placed them. When he was done, he politely excused himself from the table.

The drive to the restaurant had been pleasant enough with the both of them exchanging small talks as well as sharing personal stories, though the latter was mostly divulged by Sherman with a great deal of enthusiasm.

"So, what do think about this place?" Sherman asked tentatively. He had spent some time trying to pick the perfect place and settled for Daffodil Restaurant at last.

"I think it's great. You must have gone through a lot of trouble." Allison answered with a guilty expression. She felt absolutely dreadful what she was about to do and the effort that her companion had put in only made it much more harder.

"Not at all. Besides, even if I had, it wouldn't be a big deal. Not for you." Sherman smiled charmingly. He had waited for this opportunity for more than half a year now. He would have done anything to make this an enjoyable night for her.

Allison smiled back awkwardly as she contemplated on the manner in which to put her feelings and thoughts into words. She bit down on her lower lip and stared at Sherman apologetically. Sherman frowned slightly at the strange look he was given. Their silent exchange was briefly interrupted when the waiter served up their food.

Sherman swallowed a lump in his throat, wondering if he had did or said something wrong. "What is it?" He asked concernedly.

Allison opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again when she couldn't find the right words. She let out a beaten breath. "Actually the reason I agreed to have dinner with you tonight is to-" She grimaced, utterly dismayed by the whole situation that she had created.

"Is to what?" Sherman asked, his eyebrows turning upwards in curiosity.

Allison took a deep calming breath. "I agreed to have dinner with you tonight is to tell you I can't do this. I'm sorry."

Sherman frowned in puzzlement. "Can't do this? What do you mean you can't-" He paused immediately when comprehension set in.

"It's not you. You're a really great guy... It's just that I like someone else... I think." Allison replied rather unconvincingly.

"You think?" Sherman breathed out in disbelief as he arched an unimpressive eyebrow, receiving only a shrug from his supposed date in response. He passed a hand over his face and leaned back into his cushioned seat, he was crestfallen. He stared blankly at the plate of food in front of him, trying to come to terms with reality.

"I am so sorry. For everything." Allison said in a quiet voice as she delivered her heartfelt regret. As much as she hated to hurt Sherman, she was also relieved that she had finally told him the truth about her feelings. The next problem would be to tell him that the person she liked was his best friend, a woman. But she knew before she could reveal anything to him, she had to first talk to Remy who had been ignoring her since the last night.

Sherman nodded dumbly at the apology as he sat up. "Well, I can't really force you into anything so..." He heaved a heavy sigh. This night had turned out to be the complete opposite of what he had hoped. "I guess we're just not meant to be."


	17. Chapter 17

Remy awoke in her car at the crack of dawn and she immediately grimaced at the pain caused by her movements. Her head hurt like a bitch and her muscles ached from the awkward position that she had passed out in. She was also sweating from the stuffiness in her car, which had caused the condensation on the windows. Taking a quick look at her watch, she had about a couple of hours more until she needed to go into work. She laboriously pushed herself up in the seat and winced when she strained a particular muscle in her neck, her hand brought up to rub the area in reflex. She then turned on the ignition before driving off towards the direction of her apartment.

After getting herself cleaned up rather arduously and swallowing a few pills of Ibuprofen to relieve the killer headache, she headed out the door again to the precinct. She pondered about taking the day off from work so that she didn't have to face Sherman, but she finally decided against it. As she walked to the entrance of the precinct from the parking lot, the siren from one of the SFPD cruisers sounded and it rang deafeningly inside her head, making her headache that much worse. She quickly jogged into the building to get away from the annoying sound.

Remy smiled politely when some of the detectives and police officers greeted her as she made her way to her desk.

"Hey." She frowned when Sherman looked up at her with an upset expression. "What's wrong?" She asked worryingly since Sherman wasn't the normally brooding kind.

He sighed bleatingly. "Things didn't go well with Cameron yesterday. She dumped me. Well, she didn't exactly dump me since we weren't actually together in the first place, but I th-"

"Wait, hold on. What?" Remy breathed out in disbelief, not quite sure whether she had heard him right. Her frown deepened.

"She told me she can't be with me. Said she likes somebody else. I mean, who can that be?" Sherman replied dejectedly before burying his head in his hands.

Remy stared open-mouthed into space. She couldn't even begin to comprehend the idea that Allison might just like her back and as it started to sink in, she very nearly laughed out in ecstasy. Every single fibre and nerve in her body was on the edge. She was powerless to stop a grin from spreading across her face, sighing out softly in relief at the same time. The glimmer in her eyes disappeared when they fell on the disconsolate figure of Sherman. Her happiness lasted all of thirteen seconds before being swiftly replaced by guiltiness. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. She clenched her jaw, feeling slightly sickened by her own actions.

Sherman lifted his head slowly out of his hands when he felt a reassuring squeeze on his shoulder. "Thanks, Remy." He smiled gratefully.

Remy simply nodded in acknowledgement. She turned away from him and walked a few steps to the seat at her side of the desk. But even with the emotional turmoil she was having on the inside, the need to see Allison overpowered everything.

* * *

Allison curled up underneath the blanket in her bed with a tissue in her hand. The medication she had taken beginning to take effect.

After arriving home from dinner with Sherman last night, she collapsed onto the bed straight away. She woke up in the morning, shivering and sniffling, her illness finally hitting her after a day of incubation period. She had to use all of her strength to get out of the comfort of her bed to take her temperature. Her eyes widened in incredulity when the thermometer indicated 103.5°F.

Just as she was about to drift off into peaceful sleep, the knocking on her apartment door jolted her eyes open. Allison groaned grumpily.

Remy fidgeted restlessly as she stood outside, waiting for Allison to answer. She had dropped by the morgue at the hospital after getting off from work slightly earlier, but the blonde medical examiner was nowhere to be seen. She later found out that she had called in sick, which was what had brought her here. She raised her knuckles to knock on the white-coloured door again when it swung open to reveal a weak looking, sweat shirt and pyjama pants wearing Allison.

Remy smiled at how cute she looked in spite of the sickly appearance. The adorable reddish button nose stood out most of all, set against the milieu of pallid features.

Allison was surprised to see the brunette detective standing at her front door. She was going to ask what Remy was doing here when she saw the amused look on her face.

"Why are you smiling?" She questioned in a croaky voice, eyebrows knitting together in puzzlement.

"What? Oh, nothing." Remy replied after snapping out of her daze, shaking her head. "Erm, I came to see how you're doing." She continued, answering the unasked question.

Allison stared straight at her with a sceptical look. "I'm okay. As far as I-feel-like-crap goes." She said in one of the most endearing ways despite her unsmiling expression.

Remy chuckled, but cut it short instantly at the intent look she was given.

"Why didn't you return my calls?" Allison asked. Although she knew she had hurt Remy, she couldn't help but feel mad at her for not hearing out her explanation. "Did you even listen to the messages I left?" She leaned against the frame of the door, suddenly feeling light-headed.

"No." Remy answered in honesty, dropping her head. "I'm sorry. I just- Hey, are you okay?" She looked up to see Allison relying on the frame for support. She hastily took a few steps forward, bending her knees slightly to get a closer look at her. She tenderly held her ashen face in one hand and brushed strands of blonde hair away from it with the other.

Allison mumbled some incoherent consonants.

"Of course not. Come on." Remy wrapped her arm around Allison's shoulder and led her into the apartment, closing the door with the heel of her feet.

Remy sat her down slowly onto the couch in the living room. Allison leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees before covering her face in her hands. She was starting to feel nauseous. She jumped internally when foreign hand was placed on her back, moving up and down soothingly. The queasiness notwithstanding, she smiled a tiny smile into the palms of her hands. The movements were gradually easing her discomfort.

Remy watched Allison with a worried frown as she rubbed her back. When she felt tensed muscles relaxing, a wave of relief washed over her. "Feeling better?" She asked tentatively, never ceasing the movement of her hand.

Allison nodded into her hands, before turning her head to meet Remy in the eyes. Her heart fluttered at the concern she saw in the depths of those mesmerizing teal eyes. "Much. Thanks." She replied in a soft voice, smiling appreciatively.

Remy melted at the smile. "Do you need anything? Food? Water?"

Allison yawned as she shook her head. The small amount of energy she had left draining away. "No. I just wanna lie down and sleep."

"Okay. Let's get you to bed." Remy helped Allison up from the couch and walked her to the bedroom.

Allison sat on the edge of the bed with her eyes half-closed while Remy threw out some of the tissues lying around on the bed. The brunette shook her head in amusement. She then moved to lay the blonde down, tucking her into bed. She sat with one of her knees bent, watching Allison as she fell asleep.

When she was just getting up to leave, Allison sleepily grabbed one of her hands and turned on her side to face the other direction, pulling Remy's hand along with her. Remy lay awkwardly sideways on the bed, unsure of what she should do next. She held a mental debate before finally settling on kicking off her shoes and snuggling into bed behind her. She simply couldn't leave her alone in the poor state of health that she's in.

She pulled the sleeping beauty closer to her as she settled in. "Sleep well, Allison." She whispered into the mass of blonde hair before planting the softest of kisses on the back of her head.

Allison hummed blissfully in response.

**After the angst I've put you guys through these past few chapters, I thought some Camteen goodness might help make up for them. :)**


	18. Chapter 18

Allison sighed out mellifluously as her eyes fluttered open. The first thing she saw was the shaft of sunlight that had crept through the little opening between her maroon translucent curtains.

She shifted her body to lie flat on her back, but stiffened instantly when she bumped into something solid behind. Her heart banged against her chest. She slowly looked down to see an arm draped over her waist.

She turned her head back as careful as she could. Her startled expression softened once she came face to face with a peaceful looking Remy. She had no memory of how they ended up this way, but she could have no complaints. She turned her whole body around in measured motion so that she could properly watch her as she slept.

Unable to resist the temptation to touch the other woman, she reached her hand out and gently brushed the brown-coloured hair away from her face and tugged them behind her ear, smiling amusingly when Remy scrunched up her nose reflexively in response.

Allison wasn't sure how long she had been lying there, simply admiring the exquisite features. When she lifted her head up to steal a quick look at the clock sitting on the nightstand behind Remy, she started stirring. She caught glimpses of the crystal teal irises as her eyes flickered.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." Allison whispered smilingly once Remy had come around.

Remy stretched her tense muscles before settling down again. She grinned when Allison greeted her, silently hoping there would be more chances for her to wake up to the blonde.

"Morning to you too. I can see that you're feeling better." She commented, noticing the cheery mood and also how the rose-coloured cheeks were back and the redness of her nose almost gone.

"I am. And thanks, for staying with me overnight..." Allison trailed off towards the end. She blushed slightly at the sudden realization that they were lying very close together in bed, both awake.

"Yeah." Remy breathed out, seemingly having the same realization. She stared pensively at Allison before lifting her head up a little and then slowly leaned in towards her.

Allison was about to give in to her impulse and meet the brunette halfway when she remembered her present physical condition. Just as their lips were about to touch, she placed both her hands on Remy's shoulders to halt her progress, receiving an annoyed frown and an adorable pout. She couldn't help but chuckle at Remy's childlike reactions.

"I'm sick. I don't want you getting infected." She explained while caressing her cheek tenderly.

Remy narrowed her eyes, weighing up her options. After pondering for a few seconds longer, she closed the distance between them and landed a soft kiss on Allison's lips. The blonde closed her eyes and revelled in the tender moment.

"I have pretty strong immune system. It's gonna have to take more than a little bug to get me sick." Remy said in smugness after she pulled away. "Besides, even if I do get sick, you can take of me. So either way, I win." She added a wink afterwards.

"You wish." Allison shot back good-humouredly before pulling the chuckling Remy down by the back of her neck for another kiss.

It started out as slow and languid, then evolving into needy and heated. The two of them moaned simultaneously in pleasure when tongues touched and became tangled in a sensual dance.

Remy subtly eased herself on top of Allison, who more than welcomed the move as she turned to rest on her back so that the other woman could lie more comfortably above her. They reluctantly detached their lips from each others' after over a few minutes of wet passion, when oxygen was becoming gravely deprived.

"That was amazing." Allison said breathlessly, looking up at Remy who arched a self-satisfied eyebrow. "You gonna take all the credit?" She asked with a mix of hilarity and disbelief in her tone.

Remy shrugged in an offhanded manner in answer the question, earning herself a playful smack on the shoulder. They subsequently broke into hysterics with Remy burying her laughing face in the crook of Allison's neck.

"What are we doing?" Allison asked softly, running her hand through the mass of brunette hair absentmindedly, once they had calmed down.

Remy let out a sigh. "I don't know." She replied, her voice muffled. "Do you like me?" She asked hesitantly.

She raised her head to look at Allison when she received no response.

Allison frowned deeply at the puzzling question, staring irritably at Remy. "Of course I like you. Why would you even ask me that?"

Remy held an apologetic expression. "I'm sorry. It's just that when I asked you the last time, you didn't exactly answer me. And then you went out with Sherman... You could be confused-"

"I'm not." Allison stated determinedly. "I called you to tell you what I was gonna do but you never picked up. I've never like a woman before, but I _know_ that I like you. So can you please let it through that thick skull of yours?"

She had fought with Remy for more than six months prior to their conciliation and one of the things which always seemed to get on her nerves was her pig-headedness.

"Okay... For now." Remy joked.

When Allison heard the kid, she used her newly restored strength to throw Remy off of her before grabbing the pillow from under her head then getting on her knees and launching an attack.

"What was that you were saying?" She teased as she battered the struggling brunette.

Remy yelped. She was completely caught off guard by the sudden assault. She brought her hands up to shield her head while giggling uncontrollably.

"Okay! Okay! You like me! I get it! I get it!" She yelled as she tried to fend off the attack by attempting to take over control of the spongy weapon.

They tussled around in bed, immersed in innocent fun. Remy finally gained the upper hand when she managed to straddle the thrashing blonde and seized the pillow, tossing it away in a random direction. She hovered over Allison, leaning forward with her palms on the bed, looking affectionately at the woman underneath her.

"So, what now?" She questioned quietly. She couldn't, for her life, remember the last time she had felt this happy.

Allison exhaled a tired breath as she moved to link her hands behind Remy's neck. "We could try to make this work." She replied in an equally quiet voice.

"Are you saying you wanna date me?" Remy asked hopefully.

Her breath hitched when Allison had an uncertain look on her face as she passed her teeth over her lower lip. The hesitant expression soon turned into a bright smile. Remy sighed in relief and reciprocated the smile. She moved to rest on her elbows, lowering her head down to give Allison a kiss, pouring her feelings into it.

Allison opened her eyes to see a serious looking Remy after the kiss broke. "What is it?"

Remy swallowed a lump in her throat. "I'm gonna have to talk to Sherman about us."

Allison nodded thoughtfully. "Yeah. Maybe we could tell him together, I mean-" She stopped and looked inquisitively at Remy who was shaking her head furiously.

"I want to talk to him alone. I don't want him holding back because you're there. I want to know how he really feels." Remy explained. Her heart went into spasm at the thought of hurting Sherman, but she knew she owed him at least that much to tell him the truth.

"Okay, if that's what you want." Allison said in understanding as she stroked Remy's face lovingly.

Remy smiled gratefully at the comforting gesture. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand, which read 9.30 a.m.

"God, I'm late for work." She breathed out as she removed herself from Allison.

Allison turned to look at the time, feeling disappointed that the brunette detective had to leave so quickly for work. "Well, since you're already late, you might as well stay a little longer and eat something."

Remy stopped her movement and stared at Allison. "Eat what exactly?" She smirked.

It took Allison a moment to realize what was suggested and her eyes widened in comprehension. "Remy!"

**It's simply a fluffy little chapter. I just couldn't help myself. :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**No, don't get excited about the rating change. It's not what you think, but I wish it was. I can almost hear the groans of disappointment. XP**

"Wow, you're early." Sherman commented sarcastically when Remy arrived at the desk. He frowned a little when he made out the strange aura around her.

"What's going on with you?" He asked with a noticeable smirk.

Remy shot him a frown of her own. She was amazed by his ability to read her like a book. However, since now wasn't the appropriate time or place to disclose about her relationship with Allison to him, she decided to feign ignorance.

"Nothing. Why?"

"You have like a glow." Sherman answered incredulously with an amused smile. "Come on, spit it out." He urged, his interest was reaching peak point.

Remy cocked her head and stared wide-eye at him from across their conjoined desk.

"What are you talking about? I do _not_ have a glow. And if I have a gum in my mouth, I'll spit it out on you." She snapped back irritably, unconsciously slipping back into the mischievous mode that she was often in when around him.

"Fine, be that way. I'll get it out of you soon enough." Sherman replied smugly.

"Right. And how are you gonna do that?" Remy questioned, her tone chock-full of scepticism as she continued the rather light-hearted banter.

Sherman opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted by Lt. Gordon.

"I need the two of you to go down to San Francisco State University. Dispatch just received a call on a possible homicide. Go have a look." She ordered, glancing at Sherman then Remy. She was about to turn and walk away but did a double-take instead.

"What's up with you, Hadley?" She asked, arching an intimidating eyebrow.

Remy sat up straighter in her seat at hearing the address. "What? Nothing's up, Lieutenant."

"Really? You have like a glow." Lt. Gordon replied while making circular motions with her spread-out hand.

Sherman laughed out as soon as the words left his boss's mouth. "See, I told you so."

"Shut up." Remy barked at Sherman who was losing control of his laughter. She dropped her head in embarrassment, covering her eyes with her hand.

* * *

They reached their destination which was the main parking garage of the university, where the body was found, after a somewhat long drive from downtown all the way south to Lake Merced.

Sherman pulled up his black BMW coupe just outside the entrance to the multi-storey car park that had been sealed off. At the same time, a familiar silver hybrid came to a halt in front of them, catching both their attention.

Remy locked eyes with Allison instantly once they had gotten out of their respective vehicles, exchanging bashful smiles. She was exceedingly pleased to see her again, despite having only just left her apartment a few hours earlier.

Commotion was all round with masses of college students and passersby surrounding the structure, murmuring amongst themselves.

"Dr. Cameron." Sherman greeted with a sincere smile.

He was still harbouring feelings for the blonde medical examiner and he knew it was going to be quite a while before he could actually move on. The fact that they had mutually agreed on building a friendship during their failed dinner date a couple of days ago did nothing to mend his broken heart.

"Hey. And like I'd said before, you can call me Allison." She replied, smiling back in the same way.

Sherman nodded in accord, pursing his lips into a straight line afterwards.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Remy asked, clenching and unclenching her fists to suppress the urge to pull the other woman into a passionate lip-lock. "You shouldn't be working. You've only just recovered."

"I don't wanna stay at home alone. Besides, I really wanted to see-" Allison managed to catch herself before the beans were spilled. "The body." She cringed at the lame and perhaps inappropriate excuse she had just given.

Remy couldn't help but smirk at the panicked improvisation. When she turned her head to her other side, the smirk on her face faltered right away as Sherman was staring questioningly at her. She cleared her throat nervously, feeling browbeaten under his intent gaze.

After holding his stare for a few seconds, she diverted her eyes away from him and headed into the crime scene with Allison following close beside her.

Sherman stood in place and stared after them as they moved away from him, trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together in his head. He frowned at the ridiculous conclusion his mind had derived. Shaking it off, he put his head back into the investigation and walked into the parking garage.

The body laid in the northwest corner in the first storey. The victim had a leather belt wound tightly around her neck and her clothing ripped into shreds.

Allison shared a dismayed look with Remy before getting down to work. She carefully examined the body while Remy leafed through the victim's backpack.

"So, what do we know?" Sherman asked once he had reached them, putting his hands on his hip.

Remy let out a heavy sigh, wiping the sweat on her forehead with the back of her wrist. "Well, victim's name is Eileen Lancaster. She's a sophomore student at the SFSU. Judging by the books in her bag, most probably a business major."

"The victim died by strangulation and these bruises in the inner thighs," Allison stated as she pointed to the purplish-red spots. "Plus tears around the vagina suggest that she was raped. Estimated time of death would be about 3 in the morning. I'll see if I can get a sperm sample during the post-mortem exam."

The body was placed in a black cadaver pouch and wheeled away once she was done with the preliminary examination.

Allison made several silent exchanges with Remy as the three of them walked out of the parking garage. She was finding it increasingly hard to resist the need for physical contact with the brunette detective.

"We'll dropped by the morgue later, Dr. Cameron. I mean, Allison." Sherman chuckled embarrassingly after correcting himself.

"Okay, I'll see you two later then." She replied, looking pointedly at Remy who nodded in assurance, before leaving them for her car.

Sherman turned on the ignition and reversed the car out onto the main road once Remy had settled into the passenger seat. As he drove, his mind was running rampant with questions and thoughts.

"About before... How did you know Cameron was sick?" He asked when they were roughly halfway through the drive back to the precinct, falling easily back to the habit of referring to said person with her last name.

Remy turned her head to look at him with a blank expression.

"I went to her apartment last night." She answered in a quiet voice.

"Oh." Sherman breathed out as he let the words sink in. "So what, are you guys like best friends now? Because I'll need to know if I have a competition." He joked, glancing briefly at Remy.

Remy could feel her heart twitched painfully as it pulsated. Finding herself unable to look at Sherman anymore, she turned away and stared out the window instead.

She inhaled a deep breath before taking the plunge. "Actually, we're kind of dating."

The words struck him lightning. Sherman put the brakes on the car instantaneously, bringing it to a screeching halt.


	20. Chapter 20

Remy squeezed both sides of her head with the carpus of her hands to alleviate the tension headache she was suffering from. As she trudged down the hallway towards the morgue, the sound of her own footsteps echoed painfully inside her head. Her features contorted in anguish. She pushed through the swing double-door and stepped into the morgue without breaking her stride.

Allison was writing the post-mortem report on her metal desk when she heard the familiar thud of the door opening. She turned her head back to see a rather solemn looking Remy walking in and the floodgates of concern inside her flung open instantly. She pushed herself off the metal stool she was sitting on and approached her hurriedly.

"Hey, what's wrong?" She asked in a gentle voice, frowning worriedly.

She placed her left hand on Remy's upper arm and held her face with her right. She was thunderstruck when she saw the unattractive bloodshot in those captivating eyes that was looking back at her, with tears on the brink of overflow. Her heart broke at the sight of the lost expression.

Remy closed her eyes at the consoling touch on her face and leaned into it, absorbing all the comfort. A couple drops of tears escaped and trickled down her cheeks as a result. She clenched her jaw and wiped away the tears furiously with her hand, turning her head away from Allison. She hated to have shown her weak side to the one person she wanted to be strong for.

"I told Sherman. About us." She replied with a slightly hoarse voice, appearing as impassive as she could.

"What did he say?" Allison asked.

But judging by the atypical behaviour of the usually unflappable Remy, she knew things didn't go well between them and she abominated the fact that she was the cause of everything.

She took one step closer towards her, their bodies barely touching, with both her hands moved to rest on either side of Remy's face as she tried to get the brunette to look back at her.

Remy dragged out a dismal sigh before directing her line of sight back to the blonde. The weight of the emotions she had been carrying was crushing her. She almost broke down when her mind drifted back to the memory of earlier in the day.

_The car came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the road, resulting in several sharp screeches of tyres from the vehicles behind as well as honks and curses from their foulmouthed owners._

_Remy instinctively placed a hand on the dashboard to stop herself from sliding off her seat. She turned and stared wide-eye at Sherman, who held a similar stunned expression as he looked into the space ahead of him._

"_What?" Sherman breathed out harshly. He snapped his head to the side and glowered in incredulity at Remy, unable to come to terms with what she had just said._

_Remy swallowed the lump in her throat at the intensity of the glare. She stared straight back at him, unable to look away even though she desperately wanted to._

"_We talked about it just this morning. So we haven't actually gone out yet." She revealed in a nervous whisper after a few moments of silence. Her heart was thumping so fast and hard against her chest that she felt as if it was going to explode._

"_This morning? How long have the two of you been fooling around behind my back?" Sherman questioned in a mixture of anger, disbelief and hurt._

_Remy shook her head frantically in response. "We didn't fool around behind your back. There was just that one kiss before the two of you went out."_

"_You kissed?" Sherman yelled. His exclamation overlapping Remy's final words of explanation. "The two of you were having a go at each other just a few weeks ago!"_

_Remy ran her hand through her hair as she attempted to settle her frying nerves. "You have to calm down and listen to me." The volume of her voice close to matching Sherman's. "We were in-"_

"_Calm down? How the hell do you expect me to calm down? You kissed Cameron! The woman I was- am -practically in love with!" Sherman interrupted heatedly. "And you didn't even care to tell me before I went out with her. She must think that I was a complete idiot! Being played around like a marionette by my best friend. What am I to you, Remy?" The final question came out in a soft and heart-rending tone. He was absolutely distraught._

_Tears were welling up in Remy's eyes as she stared agape at Sherman. "You cannot believe how much it hurts me that I'm hurting you. You're the only fam-"_

"_Shut up!" They turned and shouted irritably at the vehicles behind them simultaneously, when the sounds of several horns kept going off._

_They took a moment afterwards to catch their breaths and sort out their feelings._

"_Get out of the car, Remy." Sherman enjoined, his voice voided of all emotions. He sat in his seat with his shoulders slumped and hands clutching the wheel limply. "I can't look at you right now."_

_Remy held a stricken expression. She nodded dumbly, then lifting her hand up slowly to the lever and pulled on it. She was rather surprised that she still had enough vigour left to push the car door open. She turned to look at Sherman one more time before she stepped out._

_Sherman squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting to see whatever pitiful look that Remy was giving him. When he heard the door slammed close, he quickly fired up the engine and drove off without so much as a glance in her direction._

_Remy stood at the side of the road and watched him sped off. She wanted to walk away, but she simply couldn't find the strength to move her legs._

Allison provided comforting caresses whenever she felt Remy needed them as she recounted the incident. She wished that the brunette would just break down and cry her heart out instead of suppressing her true emotions and putting up a brave front for her.

She pulled Remy into a loving embrace once she had gone hushed and felt her melt into the hug.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do now." Remy murmured as she buried her face deeper into the blonde's neck, inhaling her soothing sweet scent.

"You should just give him the space he needs. I'm sure he'll come around. He loves you." Allison assured, running her fingers through the brunette's hair. "We're gonna get through this together."

Remy nodded against her neck and slowly pulled away from the embrace.

The silhouette of the body lying on the metal table diagonally in front of her caught her attention. She then realized that she had forgotten about the homicide case she had yet to solve. She smacked her forehead with her palm, then moved downwards and passed over her face.

Allison frowned at the sudden action. "What is it?" She asked as she gently took Remy's hand into hers.

"I totally forgot about her." Remy made a vague gesture towards the body with a somewhat sheepish expression.

Allison turned to the direction indicated and mirrored the expression. "I guess I forgot about her for a little while too."

She quickly went over to her desk and picked up a file before returning to Remy.

"Ah, I sent the sperm sample I took from inside her body and sent it to the lab. They couldn't find a match in the database. No fingerprints were found on the belt either."

"This is just great." Remy responded sarcastically, taking the beach file from Allison. "I think I'm gonna ask Gardner to help with the investigation, since Sherman..." She trailed off, too deflated and tired to continue. She heaved a sigh.

"I can help too." Allison offered, giving a heartening smile.

"You already are." Remy replied, smiling back.

Allison moved forward and pulled her down by the back of her head for a kiss.

Remy had literally just a second to prepare for it when she saw she had made an advance towards her.

The kiss was brief but demonstrative, exactly what Remy needed at this point in time and she was beyond grateful for it. She could feel herself being enveloped in the warmth of her comfort.

"Oh you sweet-talker." Allison said playfully once she had pulled away.


	21. Chapter 21

Remy sat in her living room, her back resting against the front of the couch and her eyes fixed on the screen on her laptop, slowly skimming through the information about the case. Files and papers were spread all over her glass coffee table.

She took the cup of coffee sitting beside her and brought the rim to her lips, hoping the caffeine would be enough to keep her awake as she tried to find some sort of break in the case. It was either that or simply sitting on her ass with hope of being smacked with an epiphany.

The perpetrator had left nothing behind in the crime scene, saved for the sperm sample Allison had retrieved from inside the victim's body, but it didn't match any of the DNA they had in their system. The murder weapon, a leather belt, had no fingerprints on it. Along with the help of Gardner, they had interviewed the victim's family members and friends, but they were unable to provide any useful information.

With no evidence and witness, the investigation had hit a dead end.

Her attempts to contact Sherman had been futile, which she wasn't all that surprised about. She wondered where he was and what he was doing right now. He had always been there for her and Remy wanted nothing more than to do the same for him. The fact that it was her who had hurt him, burnt a hole in her heart.

She lowered her forehead onto the cool glass surface of the coffee table, closing her eyes to catch a few moments of break. She stayed in that position as she listened to the eerie silence of her apartment.

It was almost deafening.

A couple of abrupt bangs on her front door shocked her upright and her eyes shot wide open instantly. Her heart rate had sky-rocketed in those mere seconds. Feeling a bit paranoid, she reached for the gun under the table before slowly getting up on her feet and walked to the door.

Remy approached the door as quietly as possible with the gun in her hand, her index finger placed on the trigger. She looked through the peep-hole and breathed out in relief when she saw a familiar blonde standing outside, hugging a brown grocery bag. She slid off the latch before opening the door.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" She asked in pleasant surprise.

A bright smile spread across Allison's face at the sight of the beautiful brunette. "I thought you might want some company tonight, so I brought dinner." She replied in a sing-song voice, raising the bag in her hands a little in indication.

Her cheerful expression was invaded by a troubled frown when she noticed the gun in Remy's hand.

"Why are you holding your gun?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just being overly paranoid." Remy shrugged as she stuffed the gun into the back of her jeans. She smiled reassuringly at Allison, who was spotting an unconvinced look.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna shoot you. Come on in, and let me take that." She chivalrously took the big brown bag from her and stepped aside to let her in, shutting the door afterwards.

Allison was initially hesitant about dropping by unannounced, but the warm reception put whatever doubts she had in her mind at ease. To be honest, it would have been better if Remy wasn't holding her gun when she greeted her.

She walked the length of the glass divider, which had obscured the view of the rest of the apartment with its blurred surface effect. When she was at the end, she poked her head past the glass divider first, taking a peek before allowing the rest of her body to follow.

Remy cracked an amused smile and shook her head at the adorable behaviour of her guest. She moved past her towards the kitchen to set the bag down.

Allison took off her coat and laid it on the armrest of the couch. Her eyes roamed around the neat and spacious apartment as she followed its owner to the kitchen, admiring the simplicity of its design and decorations.

"Like what you see?" Remy asked with a smirk, arching a suggestive eyebrow.

She then turned her attention back to unpacking the groceries in the bag. Her expression got increasingly animated as she unpacked the stuff, which included a range of fruits and vegetables, a couple packs of spaghetti, a tub of ice-cream as well as some other snacks.

"Very much." Allison answered in flirtatious tone. She leaned her hip against the kitchen counter, standing a little close to Remy than necessary. She was understandingly disappointed when her actions didn't elicit the reactions she had hoped for, with Remy seemingly distracted by something else.

Allison's eyebrows turned upwards in bewilderment when she saw the laughing look on her face.

"What?"

"I think you bought enough groceries to last me the entire month." Remy chuckled. She shifted her body and placed her palms on the tiled counter, then leaning forward on them. Her head was turned to the side to look at a visibly embarrassed Allison as reddish-pink shade spread throughout her cheeks.

Allison was overcome with a sudden wave of nervousness under the intent gaze of shining teal eyes.

"I wasn't sure what I should get, so I just bought whatever I thought was necessary for dinner for the two of us. I didn't realize I had grabbed so many stuff, but I thought since I had already put them in the trolley and I was too lazy to put them back, I might as well ju-"

Remy cut Allison off by attaching her lips onto hers. She was watching in amusement as the blonde rambled on with her explanation, but she just couldn't resist her adorability any longer.

Allison was caught off guard by the kiss. One second, she was busy defending her shopping antics and the next, she found Remy's mouth covering her own.

However, it didn't take long for her to begin reciprocating. She felt one of the hands on her hip gently pushed her back until her whole butt was pressing against the edge of the kitchen counter. She gradually moved her own hands up to hold the brunette's face.

The kiss was soft and sensual. The sheer tenderness in the way that Remy was moving her lips against hers, made her heart fluttered and her body twitched with need.

Unbeknownst to her, Remy was holding back with the kiss. She was deeply bothered by the fact that she was here with Allison while Sherman was alone somewhere, picking up the pieces of his shattered heart. She felt herself tearing apart inside.

Just as Allison was about to deepen the kiss, Remy pulled away, much to her disappointment. It was just a little too soon than she would have liked. She let out a soft sigh and slowly slid her hands down from her face to rest on her chest.

"I guess what I meant to say was thanks." Remy said in a quiet voice, holding Allison close. "And not just for this, but for everything. Especially earlier today at the morgue. I really needed the comfort. God only knows what I would have done if you hadn't been there."

Allison gingerly tugged her hair behind her ear and averted her gaze from Remy.

"I don't think you should be thanking me. Because if it wasn't for me, none of these would have ever happened."

Remy tilted her head in thought, trying to find a fault in that logic.

"Well, that's true." She replied honestly when she found none, receiving a pained look from the blonde in her arms. "_But_, I wouldn't rather have anything else to have happened."

That was the truth. But now that she had said it out loud, doubts seemed to fill the space left by it. Remy hoped it wasn't one of those cruel one-way-or-the-other situations. She would hate to have to make a choice between the person she wanted and the person she loved. She couldn't.

A low rumbling pulled the brunette out of her thoughts.

"Someone's hungry." Remy said to nothing in particular.

"Well, I hadn't really eaten anything since this morning." Allison revealed sheepishly, receiving a disapproving look in return.

"Let's start preparing dinner then. We need to fatten you up." Remy responded rather enthusiastically as she detached herself from Allison and went over to the other side of the kitchen to take out the pots and pans.

Allison smiled half-heartedly as her mind tried to make sense of the contemplative expression she had seen on Remy's face just a few seconds ago. She considered the possibility of her having second thoughts about their relationship, despite having only just been somewhat reassured. Somewhat. She didn't want to lose her. Not now.

She was already falling in love with her.

**Not so much of a heavy content, just a chapter to show some of the feelings the two of them have as the situation of their relationship and Sherman finally sinks in within them.**


	22. Chapter 22

Remy groaned at hearing the noise of her phone vibrating on the glass coffee table. She stubbornly buried her face deeper into creamy soft skin and saccharine scent. Arms around her instinctively tightened their hold.

When the noise refused to go away, she dragged out a loud groan before lifting her head up grudgingly and reached for the source of the annoying sound.

"What?" She greeted with displeasure, propping herself up on her elbow rather arduously. Her voice was raspier than usual, having just woken up.

Allison shifted or more accurately, tried to shift. Her movements were restricted as she found herself pinned down by a weight on top of her.

She released a tired sigh and opened her eyes slowly when she heard murmurings. All she could see though was a fuzzy silhouette of a familiar figure, much like looking at a photo that was taken out of focus. She rubbed her eyes to clear her blurry vision and came upon a sombre face, not quite an ideal sight to be waking up to.

"Can you try calling him again? Alright, thanks. I'll be right there." Remy said to the phone.

She tossed it back onto the coffee table out of aggravation after disconnecting the call. She ran her hand through her hair, staring blankly into space with heavy lidded eyes.

"Hey, who called?" Allison asked in a soft voice, still feeling a little drowsy. She placed her hand on Remy's face and gently turned it towards her.

Remy gave a small smile to the woman underneath her. Her eyes fluttered close as Allison tenderly traced her jaw-line.

"That was Gardner. They found anoth-"

She was interrupted by the ringing resonating from the handbag on the sofa chair just diagonally ahead. She pushed herself off Allison to allow her to get up and answer the call. She slouched down on the far end of the couch, her body still partially in sleep mode.

Not wanting to waste anymore precious time, Remy rubbed her face with her hands to wipe the sleepiness away and forced herself up. She quickly began gathering up all the papers and slotted them back into the files while being careful not to knock over the half-full glasses of wine and plates of unfinished spaghetti.

The two of them had gone through the details of the case incalculable times last night and even tried looking at similar unsolved cases in the past for the tiniest of clues to point them in the right direction, but to no avail. They had worked tirelessly until three in the morning when Allison finally gave in to her need of sleep and plopped herself down onto the comfy couch. While she was initially reluctant, Remy ultimately crawled on top of her at the persistent and persuasive urging of the blonde.

Falling asleep in Allison's arms. How could she ever say no to that?

"Okay, I got it. I'll be there as soon as I can." Allison sighed once she had snapped her phone shut.

"Was that the GSA?" Remy asked, even though she could tell from her body language that the call was of the same dreaded content as the one she had received just minutes ago.

Allison nodded sullenly. "They want me go down to SFSU, another body was found in the campus. Is that why Gardner called earlier?"

Remy clenched her jaw as her frustration surfaced. Aside from the terrible news, Gardner had also told her on the phone that Sherman wasn't answering any of his calls or replying his messages.

She wanted to be mad him for dumping the investigation on her, but she just couldn't get past her guilt to do it.

"Yeah. Things just keep getting better." She replied in sarcasm.

Allison frowned disapprovingly at the beaten attitude shown by Remy. She stood up from the sofa chair and walked towards her. She held her hand once she was at her side.

"Remy, don't say that. Remember what I told you yesterday? We're gonna get through this _together_." She reminded, hoping the brunette would catch the meaning behind her statement. "And I know that you'll catch whoever did this, because you're probably the most stubborn person I've ever known."

Remy allowed a small smile to spread across her face. She smoothed over the blonde's hair with her hand and pulled her in by the back of her head to give her a kiss on the forehead.

"Thanks." She whispered.

Allison blushed at the loving display of gratitude. "That's what I'm here for. And we should really get going." She said when her eyes caught the time on the VCR recorder.

Remy gave a quick nod and hurriedly went back to packing the documents.

* * *

Remy waited for Allison to get her medical examination kit from the trunk before proceeding into the building of the College of Creative Arts together. They took the stairs up to the third floor and immediately came upon a large crowd gathered outside the crime scene.

They had to push their way through the throng of people and when pushing didn't work, Remy decided that a good old-fashion shove worked with much more effectiveness.

She flashed her badge to the police officer guarding the entrance to the female washroom, where the body was found. He nodded a go-ahead and lifted the yellow tape up to allow the two women to step in.

Gardner was standing over the body, which laid in between the bathroom stalls and the sinks.

"Good, you're finally here." He said to Remy as she approached him. "Hey, Dr. Cameron."

Allison pressed her lips together in acknowledgment. She carefully stepped over the nearly-naked body and kneeled down beside it.

Other than the location, the manner of which the victim was killed was pretty much the same as the last one. The clothes the victim had on were ripped into pieces and there was also a leather belt wrapped around her neck.

Remy remained straight-faced at the gruesome sight, already numbed by the equally grisly photos of the last victim that she had looked at the previous night.

"Do we know who the victim is?"

"Yeah. Her name is Gabrielle Walden. Her classmates said she stayed back in class after lesson ended to finish her assignment and that was the last time they had seen her. The janitor found her a little over an hour ago." Gardner answered, giving the brunette detective a sidelong glance.

"By the way, I couldn't contact Sherman. He seems to have switched off his phone or something. Did something happen between the two of you?"

Allison raised her head up to look at Remy, who was simply staring at the lifeless body as if she hadn't heard the question.

"Now is not the time to talk about it." Remy replied in a monotone. "What's the time of death?" She asked the blonde medical examiner, quickly changing the subject. The situation at hand was much direr than her waning friendship with Sherman.

Allison blinked her way back to reality.

"Erm, hepatic temperature puts time of death at around midnight. Victim was strangled to death. The bruises on her inner thighs and tears around the vagina area are similar to the ones on the last victim. I'll extract a sperm sample and see if it matches the one we've already got."

Remy pinched the bridge of her nose. The last thing she needed was for a serial rapist/killer to be out on the loose.

Allison pulled off her latex gloves as she stood up and signalled for the aides to bag the body.

"Are you okay?" She asked, feeling a twinge of sympathy for Remy.

"I'm okay." Remy replied, flashing a reassuring smile albeit weakly. She watched as the body was wheeled out of the crime scene. "Ah, I'm gonna head back to the precinct with Gardner. I'll drop by the morgue later at around noon?"

"Sounds good." Allison answered as she gave an encouraging squeeze on Remy's upper arm. Her hand slid downwards to hold hands with Remy, their fingers intertwined.

They moved towards the exit once she had picked up her kit from the floor.

"You coming?" Remy called out to Gardner, when she noticed the brawny man simply standing in the middle of the ladies room with a somewhat stupefied look on his face.

Gardner turned to face her and nodded dumbly while his mind tried to grapple with the unexpected answer to his unanswered question.

**I thought since this is crime fiction, it's gotta have a serial killer!  
**


	23. Chapter 23

Remy entered the elevator in the main floor of San Francisco General Hospital and pressed the button for the basement.

After leaving the crime scene, she and Gardner went straight back to the precinct to continue their research and investigation. Since the victims of the rape-homicide had no similarities in their appearances, the perpetrator could be choosing his victims randomly or targeting them for his own reason.

Like any other smart detective, Remy compared the backgrounds, criminal and medical histories of the two victims. She found out the two victims had gone to the same high school prior to their college enrolment and about three years ago, they had testified in court together for an unknown case.

Much to her annoyance, the file was sealed away and the only way to obtain it was through a court release order. She had gotten Gardner to work on acquiring that form as soon as possible while she dropped by the morgue.

She was feeling more relaxed and in-control now that she had at last, found a crucial break in the case.

Remy pushed opened the double-door and her eyes instantly laid on the back of a familiar figure. When she noticed that Allison didn't seem to be aware of her presence, her mischief took over. She slowly approached the blonde medical examiner from behind, being as stealthy as she could.

Just as she was about to spring on her, Remy saw the most outlandish of things when she looked past Allison's shoulder.

"What are you doing?" She asked incredulously.

Allison was startled by the unexpected voice. She jumped in the metal stool she was sitting on and spun around to face the source. She was holding a sandwich in her hand and a bite of it in her mouth that was threatening to fall out. Her eyes were wide opened.

Remy smiled at the half-baffled, half-stunned expression looking back at her.

"What are you doing?" She asked again, with more amusement this time.

Allison relaxed considerably when she came upon the brunette detective. She took her time to chew the bite of sandwich in her mouth and swallow before speaking.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm eating lunch, Remy." She replied in the most innocent of ways.

"In the morgue?" Remy questioned in utter disbelief, laughing a little. "Are you kidding me? There's a dead body lying right over there." She pointed, stretching her arm behind without turning her head. "And who knows how many more in the cold chambers."

Allison frowned at the rather over the top reactions from Remy.

"15." She answered nonchalantly, earning herself an open-mouthed stare. "And no, I've been eating lunch in the morgue ever since I was a M.E.-in-training. Is there something wrong?" She asked, finding nothing amiss with her own action.

Remy couldn't believe what she was hearing. "_Is there something wrong?_ Isn't it like a violation against hospital rules or something?"

"Not at all." Allison replied. "See, I even bought one for you."

She turned her body and grabbed the little brown bag resting on the metal desk, then holding it out for Remy. She looked up at her expectantly with a warm smile.

Remy shook her head, grimacing slightly. "No thanks, I'm not hungry."

"Suit yourself." Allison shrugged and placed the bag back to its original resting place. "It's really good though." She tempted, trying to get Remy to give in.

Remy arched a seductive eyebrow. "Hmm, I better have a taste of it then."

Allison held a curious expression at the look she was given. She thought Remy was going to grab the bag from behind her when she moved forward until she was standing in between her legs. Instead, Remy held her face with her hands and bent down to give her a deep kiss.

Remy licked her lips after she pulled away, a satisfied look on her face. "You're right. It's really good."

"Told you." Allison responded smilingly, enjoying the gentle caress of her cheeks. She couldn't help but notice the brunette seemed to be in a better mood than she was earlier in the morning.

Remy couldn't help but return the smile as well.

"Anyway, did you manage to find anything on the body?" She asked. As much as she would like to continue basking in the heart-warming moment, there was a serial rapist/killer to catch.

"Well, the injuries she suffered were pretty much the same as the first victim. I ran the DNA test for the sperm sample I collected, and it matches the one we've already got." Allison answered, switching into work mode in an instant. "I couldn't find anyth-"

"Hang on." Remy signalled with her index finger.

She stuffed her hand into the front pocket of her pants to pull her phone out when she felt it vibrating. She glanced at the name flashing on the screen before answering the call.

"Hey Gardner." She greeted, wishing desperately for good news. Her wish was granted. "You got it? Alright, great, I'll meet you back at the precinct in about half an hour."

"You got a lead?" Allison asked, sensing the excitement in her voice.

Remy nodded as she slit her phone back into the pocket. "Yeah. Gardner just got the release order for an old case file. I have a feeling it's gonna help us get whoever did all these."

* * *

Remy walked into the office with Allison by her side.

The blonde had decided to tag along, since she didn't exactly have that much work on her hands.

The first thing that caught Remy's eyes as she stepped into the office was Gardner swivelling in the seat belonging to Sherman as he read a file in his hands.

She missed him. He was her partner, her best friend and her family. And she hadn't been in contact with him since the incident in the car, when she had hurt him. Her heart ached at the mere memory of it, but her face showed none of the pain.

This was the first case in years that they hadn't worked together.

"Find anything interesting in that file?" Remy asked once she reached the desk. The desk she shared with Sherman.

"I did actually. Have a look at this." Gardner passed the opened file over to Remy, his eyes alternating between her and Allison as they were standing way too close to each other. _How did they happen?_

Remy took it into her hands and skimmed through the document, while Allison stretched her neck to steal a peek from over her shoulder.

"Both the victims testified against a Randolph Skinner for sexual assault charges. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment... Wait a second." Remy backtracked to the previous sentence, re-reading it. "It says here he's already dead, killed by an inmate in prison."

Gardner quickly got himself out of his own head. "I know. But the interesting thing is Randolph Skinner has a brother, Zachary. And there's a third person who testified against him as well." He said as he pointed to the name at the end of the page.

"Madeline Bridges." Remy snapped her head up to look at Gardner with wide eyes as comprehension came over her. "She's gonna be the next target. We have to find her as quickly as possible and get her into protective custody."

"On it." Gardner affirmed as he headed off hastily.

"And get me the location of Zachary Skinner!" Remy yelled after him.

She set her jaw in determination. Zachary Skinner's not going to know what hit him until it's all too late.

**I know a certain someone is missing from these few chapters. Not to worry, I haven't forgotten about him. I already have this story plotted out. :)**

**And you might want to cherish the fluff. xP**


	24. Chapter 24

Remy had a vice-like grip on her gun. Her knuckles were turning white as a result. She had her back pressed onto the wall behind her, beside the door to Zachary Skinner's apartment. She turned to look at Gardner, who was in a similar position on the opposite side.

After being given a firm nod of the head, she signalled for the police officer holding the battering ram to come forward. With a hard shove into the padlock of the door, it flew violently open with a loud thud.

Remy went first into the apartment, her gun aiming while Gardner and the rest of the police officers followed closely behind. They then separated to search every single room for their suspect.

"Clear!" She shouted out once she entered the bedroom and found it unoccupied. More of the same announcement was made, with no sign of the suspect anywhere in his own home.

She let out a disappointed sigh. She had hoped to be able to arrest him and put an end to his vengeance act. This was almost anti-climatic.

Remy returned her gun back into its holster and started looking around for any clue of his whereabouts. She walked over to the closet and slid its folding door open. Several leather belts were hanging on one of hangers and they were similar to the ones that were used to strangle the two victims.

A half-close box tucked in the corner caught her eyes and she bent down to drag it out.

She removed the cover of the box to reveal the contents within. As she rummaged the box, she uncovered cut-out newspaper clips of his brother's sexual assault case and snapshots of the victims plus soon-to-be victim, Madeline Bridges.

Attempts to contact her were unsuccessful, which was extremely worrying. Photos of both Madeline and Zachary were already distributed out to police officers and patrol cars in order for them to be able to keep a look-out.

"Hey, Remy!" Gardner called out as he rushed into the bedroom. "One of the patrols just spotted a guy looking like Zachary Skinner in the campus. They are following him on foot."

"What are we waiting for then? Come on, let's go." She replied as she closed the box.

The two of them hurried off with a group of police officers, while the others stayed behind to watch over the apartment in case the suspect decided to return.

* * *

"Where is he now?" Remy asked impatiently once she reached the side of the officer-in-charge.

There were about a dozen of police cars parked outside the university's gymnasium, where the suspect had headed into.

"They lost him." He answered with a mix of embarrassment and frustration.

"What?" Remy breathed out unsympathetically. "He could be in there with the girl right now!"

She turned and ran towards the building with Allison and Gardner right beside her.

The blonde medical examiner had insisted on following on the hunt for Zachary Skinner in the face of exasperated pleads from a certain brunette detective. She had waited anxiously by the car when they busted into his apartment. She wasn't going to be so obedient this time though.

The officer-in-charge, Captain Townsend, quickly motioned for some police officers to follow him as he rushed after them.

Crowds of students and faculties were being marshalled out of the building entrance at the same time, obstructing their way.

"Move out of the way people!" Townsend yelled as he and his group of police officers cleared out a path to the entrance, seemingly eager to redeem himself for his men's earlier failure.

They rushed into the near-emptied building and spread out in different directions to cover more grounds. The three of them stuck together along with a couple of officers and headed upstairs, figuring it would be easier to work their way downwards.

The top level appeared to be deserted. It was complete silence except for the sounds of their footsteps and its echoes.

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream filled the air. They turned towards the direction of the shriek all at once and dashed down the hallway.

When they reached the doorway to the sports hall, they came upon the sight of an average-build man straddling a thrashing woman as he tried to tear her sports attire off.

"Police!" One of the officers shouted.

Zachary turned his head back to see a gang of five standing at the entrance. He looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He hurriedly got off his target and sprinted away to the exit on the other side of the hall.

Remy wanted to scream at the rookie officer for his idiocy for alerting Zachary to their presence, but she couldn't waste a second of the precious time reprimanding him.

"You two stay with the girl." She looked at Allison and Gardner before turning to the two police officers. "And you two follow me. Hurry!" She dashed after the running man as soon as she was finished, not exactly caring if any of them were following her. She had only one thing in mind.

She gritted her teeth as she ran, trying to catch up with Zachary who had about a 20 seconds head-start. She opened her strides up as wide as humanly possible.

Remy was not about to lose this race.

She could see him pushed through the door to the stairwell at the end of the hallway and she drove herself on. When she had nearly arrived at the door, she shifted her body to one side to use her shoulder and her momentum to ram the door open.

She hurried down the stairs, skipping a few steps in between. She chanced a glance down over the handlebar occasionally to get a glimpse of Zachary's position. Confidence rose inside her when she noticed that she was closing in on him.

Remy was panting heavily. Her heart simply wasn't pumping oxygenated blood through her body fast enough. She could feel her muscles burning and her legs on the brink of giving out. And they probably would have if it wasn't for the flow of adrenaline.

She jumped the last few steps of the stairs and yanked open the closing door. She was using every single ounce of strength in her body to keep herself running. She came to a stop at a T-junction, looking frantically from side-to-side after losing sight of her target.

She managed to catch a glimpse of a shadow on her left and immediately chased after it. The sound of footsteps hurrying down the stairs could be heard. She turned the corner when reached the end of the corridor and followed Zachary down the flight of stairs.

Remy slowed down to a walk once she was at the bottom of the stairs because she noticed that it was dead end right in front of her. She drew out her gun from its holster and carefully approached the only door located ahead of her.

The passage was rather dark. She could only see with the help of the light coming through the opened door.

Remy stepped through the door, her eyes roaming around to look for any sign of movement. The room was like a warehouse with metal shelves about two-storeys high, filled with sports equipments of every kind.

She slowly walked further into the storeroom, searching for Zachary. Her heart was pounding, her breathing was laboured and beads of sweat were dripping down from her forehead.

The sound of rattling made her spun to her right.

A baseball bat was rolling towards her. Right when it hit her feet, she heard the loud pull of switch.

All the lights went out instantly, plunging her into darkness.


	25. Chapter 25

"It's okay, everything's okay now!" Allison yelled as she and Gardner tried to subdue the thrashing woman on the ground.

"Get off me! Get off me! Please, get off me!" Madeline screamed, too far gone to recognize the fact that her attacker had already left. Her arms were flailing about, pushing away the two people who were trying to help her. The trauma of the assault had apparently caused a mental break.

Even as she was trying to get the hysterical woman to calm down, Allison kept glancing towards the exit that Remy had run out of. She was hoping the brunette detective would just reappear at the doorway with a triumphant expression in the company of a Zachary Skinner in handcuffs, much like a picture of a proud fisherman holding up his catch-of-the-day.

The sound of hurried stomping footsteps indicated the arrival of the EMTs.

She quickly moved out of their way while Gardner continued to press down on Madeline's shoulders to keep her in place as one of the EMTs prepared to give her a shot of tranquilizer.

"Stay with her. I'm going after Remy." Allison said to the brawny man, after seeing that they had the situation under control. She stood up and rushed towards the same door where said person had went through minutes earlier.

"Wait, no! Dr. Cameron!" Gardner shouted after the blonde medical examiner. He removed one of his hands from Madeline and reached out to grab one of hers, but caught hold of air instead. He cursed under his breath, knowing that Remy would most certainly make sure he choked on a donut if anything happened to Allison.

Once she was out of the door, Allison looked from left to right as she attempted to work out the path to take. With the whole level practically empty, she took off in the direction of the door at the end of the hallway, leading to the stairwell. She had no idea where she was heading to, simply relying on her instincts to guide her way to Remy.

She rushed down the stairs until she reached the first basement floor and the sight of a small gap between the door and its frame caught her eyes. She pulled it open and ran the straight path ahead of her, coming to a halt at a T-junction.

Allison turned to her left without second thought. She couldn't explain it in her mind, but she just knew that was the way to go.

* * *

Everything around her was dark. Remy thought she had been sucked into a black hole.

With her sense of sight useless for at least that little while, all her other senses were forced into overdrive. She could hear every thump of her heart and every single breath she took. She could smell the unpleasant rubbery and mouldy scent of the sports equipments. She could feel every fibre of her body burning and how the stagnant air seemed to hug every area of her exposed skin.

She abominated not having the ability to see what was coming. It made her feel helpless and exposed. Her heart felt like it was beating at 130 beats per minute. Her fear and insecurity were reaching their highest points.

Remy held the gun in her hands with a death grip and pointed it out in front of her, her index finger ready to press down on the trigger. The gun gave her a sense of protection that she so desperately needed in her current situation.

She urgently aimed her gun to each side, up then down. The number of directions to cover appeared endless in the dark.

When she shifted her feet to turn behind, she accidentally kicked the baseball bat that was lying on her foot, causing an ear-splitting rattle. She spun back to her original position instantly.

With her eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness of the storeroom, she could make out the length of the baseball bat on the floor as it rolled away from her foot.

Remy let out a sigh of relief.

As she was lowering her gun, Zachary pounced on her from behind and wrapped his strong upper limbs tightly around her, trapping her arms. One of his hands found its way to grab hold of her grip on her gun.

She yelped at the sudden attack and felt herself being lifted off the ground. She kicked frantically at air before her feet found the floor again.

"Let go of me!" Remy shouted, writhing violently in his assailant's throttlehold in an attempt to free herself, but he was simply too physically powerful than her.

So rather than trying to wriggle out of his hold, Remy drove her elbow into his abdomen as hard as she could. The action wasn't easy seeing how she had her arms trapped. She was rewarded with a little bit more space to manoeuvre when Zachary's grip on her loosened and she rammed another elbow into him.

He grunted in pain, but still managed to keep his arms encircled around her as he tried to pry the gun off her hands. Under the sheer impact of a third elbow drive, he felt one of his ribs cracked and stumbled two steps back.

Once she was out of his hold, Remy swiftly turned around to point the gun at Zachary.

He recovered quickly however, sidestepping the aim of the gun and wrapped his big hands around hers.

She tried to pull her hands back, but he tugged them towards him as they fought to obtain sole control of the metallic weapon. Its muzzle was pointing dangerously at random directions during the struggle.

With one hard yank, he took control of the gun. But the pull had caused Remy's finger to press down on the trigger and the gun went off with a deafening bang.

Remy thought she heard a body dropped down to the ground with a thud.

The power of the recoil was so great that it dislocated Zachary's shoulder. He grasped the injured part of his anatomy as his features contorted in anguish.

Remy seized the opportunity to give him a roundhouse kick to the side of his head, rendering him unconscious. His grip around the gun slackened and it fell to the floor. He went down on his knees before falling face first onto the cemented ground with a sickening crack.

She stood hunched over his motionless body, trying to catch her breath. That was without a doubt one of the most intense and frightening experiences of her life. As she straightened up her body and made a move towards Zachary to put the handcuffs on him, a soft whimper made her snapped her head to the side.

Her blood ran cold at the sight.

Allison was lying flat on her back on the ground near the entrance. She had her hand placed on top of her lower abdomen.

"Allison!" Remy called out and rushed to her side in an instant. She kneeled down and carefully took Allison's hand away from the bullet wound it was covering.

"Oh god..." She breathed out when she saw the extent of the injury. Her lips quivered as tears began to well up in her eyes.

Blood were oozing out from the wound, soaking the shirt wet and the red splodge on it was spreading wider and wider. She quickly pressed her hands down onto the opened wound to prevent the blonde from losing anymore blood.

Allison cried out in pain when the brunette applied the pressure, her face scrunching up together in pure agony.

"Shhh... It's okay. You're gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay." Remy assured as she sniffled, her voice breaking towards the end. "Just lie still, okay? I'm gonna get help."

She removed one of her hands and jammed it into the front pocket of her jeans, pulling her cell phone out.

"Fuck! Come on, Remy." She cursed at her own uselessness as her hand was trembling so hard that she couldn't even press down on the right number, tears were flowing freely down her face.

Blood were smeared all over the phone's screen.

"Rem..." Allison mumbled, along with a string of incoherent words. Her head was lolling to the side and her eyes beginning to flutter close.

"No, Allison! Stay with me!" Remy yelled at her as she dialled Gardner's number on her phone. She sandwiched the phone between her ear and right shoulder, waiting impatiently for him to pick up.

"Please just stay with me." She pleaded tearfully as she brushed strands of blonde hair away from Allison's face.

When Gardner's voice came through, Remy's heart bloomed with hope. "Gardner! Send the EMTs down to the second basement floor right now! Allison's been shot! Tell them to hurry! She can't hold on much longer!"

She was so absorbed in the distressing situation with Allison, she had failed to notice that Zachary Skinner had been gradually rising up to his feet behind her. His nose was bleeding profusely. He clutched his head in pain with one hand while the other one stretched out to grab the gun positioned just behind him. He wrapped his fingers around the stock and placed his index finger on the trigger.

Staggering a couple of steps forward, he raised the gun up and aimed the muzzle directly at the back of Remy's head.

_Bang!_

***Evil Laugh* This is **_**so**_** dramatic.**

**And unfortunately to say, I won't be able to update for the next couple of weeks or so because I have this huge school assignment.**** Okay, I'm just kidding. xD**

**Too bad for me it's only about the updating part because I really do have an assignment to complete. :(  
**


	26. Chapter 26

Approximately 35 hours earlier...

He didn't know where he was going. He just kept on driving, one road after another as the words echoed in his head, haunting him through the directionless journey.

_Actually, we're kind of dating._

The traffic light ahead of him turned red, but it didn't register in his mind. He simply couldn't recognize the indication and so, he drove on. The sharp screeches of tyres and roaring sounds of horns that followed were completely blocked out. All he could hear was the voice in his head.

_We talked about it just this morning. So we haven't actually gone out yet._

It was a voice he knew so well, the voice of someone he trusted and loved. He wanted it to quit talking and leave him alone, but it was relentless. There was no escape from inside his own head.

_We didn't fool around behind your back. There was just that one kiss before the two of you went out._

He laughed out at the ridiculous line of reasoning. The humourless laugh subsided as soon as it came out, quickly replaced by wrenching heartache. He was clutching onto the steering wheel so tightly that both of his arms were trembling.

_You have to calm down and listen to me._

He didn't want to listen. He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to force the voice out of his head as the things it was saying were too painful to hear.

When he opened his eyes, the sight before him made them widened in surprise. He swerved in the very last second, narrowly missing a mother and daughter who were standing thunderstruck in the middle of the road.

_You cannot believe how much it hurts me that I'm hurting you._

The car smashed into the fire hydrant on the sidewalk as if reality had crashed into him. Airbag exploded out in front of him like amity being thrown back at his face. Even if what it said was true, it couldn't possibly compare to how much he was hurting now.

Sherman used all the strength he had left to push open the car door and stumbled out. He bent over at his stomach with his butt resting against the door to the back seat, groaning at the pain of his body caused by the impact of the crash, as showers of water that had burst out from the fire hydrant rained down on him.

He slumped down onto the rough surface of the road, too bushed and crushed to be standing on his feet. He laid sideways, his back leaned against the tyre and his eyes began drooping. He heard mumblings of incomprehensible words and saw worried faces looking down upon him through the slits of his closing eyes.

Everything around him started to spin. And that was the last thing he remembered.

* * *

Sherman found himself staring up at white-coloured ceiling when he regained his consciousness.

He had an oxygen mask uncomfortably placed over his mouth and he tried to pry it off his face, but was stopped by a hand gripping his wrist. He slowly turned his head to the side and could barely make out the two figures sitting close beside him.

As his surroundings became clearer to him, he realized he was in an ambulance.

"He's coming around." He heard one of the paramedics said and then felt an assuring squeeze on his upper arm. "Sir, you're gonna be okay. We're taking you to the hospital right now. Actually, we're here."

Sherman scrunched his face up together when the blinding afternoon sun hit his eyes as he was wheeled out of the ambulance through the double-door at the back. The throbbing in his head was becoming increasingly agonizing and the clamour around him wasn't helping his situation at all. He pulled at his hair using his hand, hoping to somehow relieve some of the pain.

The next thing he knew was the feeling of being lifted up into the air before settling back down onto a soft foundation.

"Can you not do that?" He asked, pushing away the hand that was holding the bright light directly at his left eye.

"You just had a car accident. I have to make sure you don't have a concussion." The ER doctor replied with her voice raised slightly.

"I have a killer headache, but I _don't_ have a concussion." Sherman snapped as he sat up, removing the oxygen mask from his mouth and pulled it up over his head, glaring at the brown-hair woman standing by the bed.

"Are you a doctor? If not, stop resisting and let me have a look at you." She shot back, stubbornly shining the light from the penlight into his eye again.

Sherman leaned all the back onto the inclined bed with a frustrated sigh, too tired to argue.

"Do you know what day it is?" She asked as she clicked the light off and scribbled something onto the chart board.

Sherman stared at her incredulously. "Are you serious? I _don't_ have a concussion. I know what _day_ it is. It is the day I found out my best friend has been lying to me and dating the woman I'm in love with behind my back."

"In other words, Tuesday." He clarified when he saw the bemused expression on his attending doctor's face.

She nodded thoughtfully and sauntered towards the end of the bed. "Okay, I'll order a head CT to make sure there's no swelling or bleeding in your brain. You're gonna have to stay overnight for observation as well."

"And I'm sorry, about what your best friend did." The brunette said sympathetically before walking away.

He sat there with an impassive face, even though he could literally feel his chest tightening.

* * *

Sherman got himself discharged as soon as he could the next day, since there was no abnormality found in the CT scan of his head. He had been looked after throughout the night by the ER nurses and that same doctor, who examined him the day before, had given him an all-clear to leave.

He flipped open his phone as he walked out of the ER of San Francisco General Hospital. There were 21 missed calls in addition to a dozen of unread messages and more than half of the combined total was from Remy.

He snapped his phone close, not bothering to check any of the voicemails or texts, and glanced at his watch. It was almost 3.30 in the afternoon. He waved over the cab nearby and got in, telling the driver to take him to the nearest bar. He needed to settle down and sort out the mess in his mind.

Sherman ordered a glass of whiskey from the bartender once he had sat down. He rested his elbows on the counter and buried his face into the palms of his hands. As much as he tried, he simply couldn't focus his thoughts.

"Here." The bartender said to him, placing the glass on top of a folded tissue.

He swirled the whiskey around before taking a gulp of it. He knew the alcohol would most probably hamper his ability to think, but he didn't care. The need for comfort was overwhelming and he figured the only way he could get a source of warmth, was from alcohol.

Memories of him and Remy ran through his mind, from the day he met her in the police academy to the day they found out that they were going to be crime-fighting partners along with the things they had went through over the years. His heartache intensified as the mental images of those memories flashed across his eyes.

He downed the rest of the whiskey and gestured to the bartender for another. He had liked Allison from the first moment he saw her and he couldn't fathom why Remy had disliked her so much. Fast-forward to nearly eight months later, the two women were dating each other and six months of hostility between them gone in a snap of the fingers.

Sherman recalled back to the events of the previous day, how Remy had walked into the office in the morning prior to breaking the news that she was seeing Allison. _She was glowing._ He had never seen her genuinely happy before, let alone emitting that kind of radiance.

Just as he was about to take a swig at the second glass of whiskey, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He let out a noisy breath before getting off the stool and pulled it out of his pocket. It was a message from Gardner.

He debated internally for a few moments and then pressed down on the green button to open the text. Gardner was informing him that they were going off to San Francisco State University to try and capture the vindictive killer. He stared at the screen, wondering what he should do next.

Before Sherman knew it, he was already out of the bar and flagging down a cab.

It took him almost an hour to reach the campus. The entrance to the College of Creative Arts had already been sealed off and there were about a dozen police cars parked just outside. He quickly paid the driver and got out of the cab, sprinting towards the building ahead.

"Detective Marshall, you're he-"

"Where're Remy and Gardner?" He asked, cutting off the officer who was greeting him.

"They're inside. Zachary Skinner was spot-"

Sherman didn't wait for him to finish his sentence. He ran into the building the instant he heard that they were in there with the killer.

Once he was in the building, he looked left and right frantically, not knowing which direction to go. His heart beat fast against his chest. His nerves were on the edge. He caught the square sign of a stairwell not far to his left and rushed towards it, running like he never ran before. He yanked open the door when he reached it and stepped through.

That was when he heard the distanced sound of a gun going off.

**After receiving the backlash for that, I admit, utterly mean cliffhanger in the last chapter, I fear for my life for this.**

**I wonder what are the odds of me being killed by collective mind power, but I bet they're pretty high. :x**


	27. Chapter 27

_Bang!_

Remy jumped at the sudden booming sound of gun blast. She turned half of her body around in an abrupt motion, causing the phone she had sandwiched between her ear and her shoulder to slip off onto the ground. It bounced off a few times before coming to a stop about an arm's length away.

The anxious voice of Gardner could still be heard coming through the speaker, but she was unable to grasp the meaning behind those apparently familiar words.

She stared with wide reddened, tear-stung eyes at Zachary Skinner. He was standing just a couple of steps away from her, holding her gun that was aimed directly at her face.

Blood was trickling down from a hole in his left chest. His maniacal eyes were rolling back into his head. He exhaled his last breath, with his tensed up features slackening, before the gun fell out of his hand and he crumpled down onto the ground.

Remy's eyes followed him as he collapsed and continued to stare at his lifeless body with disbelief as it laid on the floor.

She remembered him being in a rather similar position a few moments ago, just much further away from her current spot. She thought she had gone insane. She was trying to come to terms with the fact that she was almost killed without even knowing.

And she should have been. Remy didn't know how she could still be breathing.

She snapped her head up when she noticed a silhouette standing near a door at the far end of the storeroom, in a straight line behind where Zachary Skinner was. Her jaw dropped once she managed to make out the face of it in the dark.

She knew then, how she was still breathing.

Sherman stood in place, panting heavily with his gun pointed ahead of him. He could smell the smoke that was coming out from the muzzle of his gun which he had just fired.

As soon as he heard the sound of a gun going off in the stairwell, he had dashed down the stairs towards where he assumed to be its origin. His instincts led him to a closed door of what looked like a storeroom and opened it as slowly and quietly as possible, drawing out his gun at the same time.

He prayed hard that he wasn't too late.

The first thing he saw was the back of Zachary Skinner before he caught the sight of Remy kneeling beside a body that was lying on the ground. He froze up when he recognized who it belonged to. His eyes widened in shock.

He was brought out of his stupor when his eyes detected movements from Zachary Skinner, who was stumbling forward with his empty hand clutching the side of his head and raising his gun-holding hand, pointing it directly at the back of Remy's head.

He sealed his fate with that move.

Sherman immediately lifted up his gun and aimed the muzzle at the killer's left chest, the location of his beating heart. He pressed down on the trigger without the slightest of hesitation and with a thunderous bang, the bullet shot out at blinding speed towards the target.

He stared at Remy as waves of emotions surged through him. It seemed like such a long time to him that he had last seen her, even though it was only yesterday. He realized then, that it had nearly became _the_ very last instance he saw her alive.

Sherman could hardly believe he had just about made it in time to save the two people he loved.

Or at least one of them.

* * *

"Come on, Allison." Remy pleaded, even though it was highly unlikely that the blonde could hear her since she had already lost consciousness by the time the EMTs had arrived at the scene of the shooting.

She was holding onto Allison's hand tightly as she was being wheeled towards the OR in San Francisco General Hospital. Sherman was on the opposite side of the movable hospital bed, rushing along with the brunette and a couple of nurses.

Remy's heart broke when she looked down upon the ashen face of Allison. She remembered teasing her about her bizarre habit of eating lunch in the morgue just earlier that day. Things had taken a 180 degrees turn and Allison was now lying unmoving on the bed, barely breathing as life slowly bled out of her.

"You can't go in there." One of the nurses said when they had reached the entrance to the OR.

Remy reluctantly released her hold on Allison's hand and caught one final glimpse of her before the double-door closed completely. She felt as if she had let go of a part of herself and she hated that there was nothing she could do to get it back, except to wait. She covered her mouth with her hand as she swallowed back a sob.

Sherman moved to stand behind her, placing his hands on either side of her shoulders and gave them an encouraging squeeze. It pained him to see her in such anguish. He looked up at the double-door, worried sick for Allison as well.

Remy turned and threw her arms around his neck. She finally let loose, crying uncontrollably on his shoulders.

"She'll be okay. Everything's gonna be okay." Sherman said, his voice barely above a whisper. He shushed her and patted her back, trying his best to comfort her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Remy breathed out in between sobs as she clung onto him. She was overwhelmed with guilt for hurting Sherman and also for letting harm to befall on Allison.

Sherman shook his head at hearing the heartrending apologies. "It's not your fault, Remy."

"Yes, it is!" Remy pulled away from the embrace and yelled, earning the attention of the entire floor. "If I hadn't been so selfish, none of these would have happened! I shouldn't have betrayed you and went out with her, in that case she would never have came after me in the gymnasium and she would never have been shot! I should have protected her."

She cursed at her own one-mindedness, chasing after Zachary Skinner without regards of anyone. Without regards of Allison. She was supposed to be the one in the OR fighting for her life, not Allison. She closed her eyes in exasperation and tears trickled down her cheeks.

Remy couldn't even begin to think about the possibility of the blonde not making it out alive. She had come to mean so much to her.

"You couldn't have known that was gonna happen. If you want someone to blame, blame me. I was the one who left you in the lurch. _I_ should have been protecting the two of you." Sherman shot back, not bearing to let Remy beat herself up over something he was responsible for.

"I'm sorry." Remy said in a cracked whisper. She didn't know what she was apologizing for this time, but she had nothing else to say that could make things better and in truth, there was none. She wished there was something she could do to help Allison and she would do anything for her at this point.

"Come on, you need to sit down." Sherman wrapped his arm around her shoulders and led her to the waiting area, sitting her down on the one of the couches.

Remy sank heavily onto the cushioned seat, thoroughly worn-out by the day's event.

Sherman put his arm around her, letting her head rest on his shoulder. He brushed strands of brown hair away from her face and noticed for the first time that she had stains of blood all over it. He tried to wipe them away with his thumb, but they had already dried up. He slowly flipped her right hand over and saw blood on her palm as well.

Remy looked down and saw the evidence of her sin. She had Allison's blood on her hands. A drop of her tears fell onto her palm, resurrecting dry blood.

"Close your eyes and rest, Remy." He said softly as he leaned back on the couch, pulling Remy with him.

Remy did as she was told, too tired to protest.

He ran his fingers through her hair absentmindedly and after a few minutes, he felt her breathing evened out. Sherman stared at the clock that hung on the plain wall ahead of him, watching the seconds ticked by.

**I hereby declare this is the end of any torturous cliffhangers... At least for this story. xD**


	28. Chapter 28

Allison opened her eyes, but squeezed them shut almost immediately when shafts of bright light shone through the small slits and stung them. She hissed at the burning pain caused by the light, her face scrunching up together.

As the flaming sensation of her eyes began to subside after a few moments, she let out a soft sigh and relaxed her features along with the tensed up muscles in her body.

Having learnt the painful lesson, Allison brought a hand up to shield her eyes from the light before opening them for the second time.

Everything around her was blurred. She could barely make out the shadowy figures that seemed to float past the glass walls some distance away. Her mind and body were still trying to find their way back to the state of consciousness.

The pungent smell of disinfectant in the air and the high-pitched sound of rhythmic beeping in the background gave her a pretty good idea of her current location. The only sense failing her at the moment was her sight. She tried to blink away the fuzziness, but the smoke screen in her eyes stubbornly refused to recede. She moved on to her next plan of rubbing it away using her hands.

Allison was startled briefly when she felt a grip on one of her hands, which tightened at the instant as she attempted to move it. The beeps of her heart-rate monitor increased substantially in response to her sudden racing heart.

She turned her head to the side and looked down to her hand, sighing in relief once she came upon the object of the restraint. An unconscious smile spread across her face, although it was rather weak.

She softly traced imaginary circles on the hand that held hers and used her other hand to brush brown hair away from peacefully disturbed face. She chuckled when she noticed the little wet puddle on the bed, right below where the mouth was located.

Her chuckling in amusement quickly turned into her cringing in pain. She groaned and clutched her abdomen with both of her hands, gradually curling herself up into a ball.

Remy shifted in her seat, murmuring a string of garbled and no doubt disgruntled words when an abrupt tugged of her hand and several other movements interrupted her sleep.

She lifted her head up slightly and rubbed her eyes before wiping the corner of her mouth. She felt aches in her whole body as she sat up straighter.

Once she became aware of her surroundings, the first thing she saw was the way Allison had curled up a tad on the bed and then the contorted features on her face.

"Allison! Wh - Oh god." Remy breathed out as she swayed on her foot. She placed one hand on her forehead and another on the bed for support.

She had gotten up so fast from her seat just seconds after she had woken up, her mind wasn't able to catch up with her body and that had resulted in an occurrence of nasty light-headedness, but her extreme concern for the woman writhing in bed provided an almost instant remedy for the dizziness.

"You just hold on for a sec, I'm gonna go get the nurse." Remy said quickly as soon as she had recovered from the giddy spell.

She had only whirled half her body around when a hand gripped her wrist, preventing her from moving any further away. She turned back to face Allison, whose agonized expression appeared to have softened considerably compared to just a few seconds prior.

"Don't go. I'm alright." Allison spoke in a breathy whisper, even though she could feel the throbbing pain from the bullet wound in her lower abdomen with a couple beads of sweat trickling down her forehead.

"No, you're not. You're obviously in pain, I'm gonna go get the nurse." Remy said again, more determinedly this time. She managed a single step forward before being tugged back once more.

"Remy, I'm fine now. Just stay here with me, please?" Allison asked. Her eyebrows were turned upwards to give a pleading look.

"You could have pulled your stitches. It'll only take a few seconds for the nurse to check. You'd already lost a fair amount of blood, I don't want you bleeding out on me again." Remy replied austerely.

She stood in the spot with her head turned back and her hand held onto behind her, staring frowningly at the blonde lying on the hospital bed. In spite of the stern expression she had on, she was already feeling herself melting inside at the adorable look she was given.

"I didn't, I'm okay. Look." Allison rushed through her words and tried to sit herself up, but was too weak to do so.

"That's really convincing." Remy commented sarcastically. She rolled her eyes before moving forward to help. "Lie back down." She pushed the 'up' button on the remote control to incline the bed.

Allison then pushed off the blanket that was covering her upper torso and opened up her gown enough to reveal the bandage around her abdomen, which was clean with no sign of blood seeping through.

Remy's breath caught in her throat when Allison opened up her gown, exposing smooth skin right down the middle of her front with the sides of the gown just about hanging off her breasts.

She would have swallowed if her mouth hadn't dried up. She almost wished they would slide off a bit more to end the innocent yet torturous teasing, but the inappropriateness of the setting and situation managed to keep her hormones grounded.

Allison frowned at Remy, who was silent and was simply staring down at her body. She followed her line of sight and realized that the brunette's eyes weren't even close to looking at the bandaged wound.

She started to blush profusely and made a move to cover herself up out of self-consciousness as well as embarrassment, shrinking deeper into the bed at the same time.

Her breath hitched when Remy stepped closer to her with her hands reached out, only to find out that she was merely going to help her wrapped the gown back around her body.

"Happy now?" Allison asked, hoping the proof of a clean bandage was enough to convince Remy that she didn't need the attention of the medical staff. She concentrated on smoothing out her gown, avoiding eye contact.

"Yeah, kind of." Remy smirked in suggestion.

Allison snapped her head up, looking at Remy with her jaw hanging slightly. She could feel her cheeks beginning to burn again as warm blood rushed up into them, having just cooled. She diverted her eyes away and stared at her blanket-covered feet, suddenly finding them rather interesting.

Remy smiled when she saw the flustered expression. She sat down on the bed beside Allison with one of her knees bent, while her other leg hung off the bed. She raised her hand to Allison's reddened cheek and slowly turned her face towards to meet her own.

Looking deep into crystal blue eyes, Remy felt currents of emotions coursed through her entire body and the hairs on her skin stood up, shuddering with each wave. She realized just how much she had missed the blonde.

After Allison had been wheeled into the OR, she had already lost about thirty percent of her blood and required immediate blood transfusion to keep her alive as the surgeons removed the bullet fragments embedded inside her body. Sherman waited in the waiting area with the brunette for about four hours before the operation, and their torment, finally ended.

Remy stayed by Allison's bedside in ICU for the subsequent twenty-four hours that the latter was unconscious. Sherman had urged her numerous times in between to go home to get herself cleaned up and assured her that he would stay behind at the hospital while she headed back, but she was too worried about Allison to be able to take her eyes off her for even one second. She wanted to be there at Allison's side when she woke up.

In the end, she was the one who convinced Sherman to go back to his own apartment.

"Do you what an idiot you were for coming after me? What were you thinking?" Remy asked in a quiet voice, tenderly caressing the soft skin underneath her thumb.

"I guess I wasn't." Allison answered, whispering her confession. "But I was worried, and I got scared for you. I just couldn't leave you to deal with Skinner alone. I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's not your fault. I would have done the same if I were you." Remy replied, purposely leaving out the part about her having a gun pointed at her head and almost getting killed. She didn't want Allison to feel guilty for something that never happened, no matter how close it came.

"I shouldn't have let you come along. I was supposed to protect you." She continued in self-blame, lowering her head slightly. Her hand dropped off from Allison's face onto her lap.

"Hey, the only way you could have prevented me from tagging along was to lock me up in jail." Allison joked, trying to lighten up the mood.

"I probably should have done that." Remy joked back, leaning into the soft grazes of Allison's fingers as they brushed across her face to gently tuck strands of brown hair behind her ear.

With her eyes focused on the unblemished face in front of her, Allison took in the dark circles that were shadowing impressive teal eyes and the way the features seemed to be hanging heavily. Obvious signs of fatigue and sleep-deprivation.

"You should go home and get some rest." She said, her hand sliding from Remy's face down to her neck.

"Are you trying to get rid of me?" Remy asked, staring at Allison with wide eyes.

"I was hoping you would just take hint." Allison replied good-humouredly, playing along with the brunette upon hearing the playful tone behind the question. "Besides, you look like crap."

"Well, so do you." Remy responded, shooting back the light-hearted insult.

"Then why were you staring before?" Allison questioned. She was determined to win the round of banter.

"I wasn't looking at your face that time." Remy answered bluntly. She smiled cheekily in triumph when Allison simply gawked at her with opened mouth.

"That was mean." Allison pouted, before finding herself being infected by the impish smile. "But I'm serious. You should really go home and rest. I'll still be here when you come back. I'm not going anywhere with a hole in my stomach."

"I don't wanna leave you alone." Remy replied while shaking her head, fearing something else might happen to the blonde while she was away. The last time she had left her behind, Allison ended up here in the hospital. "I don't wanna leave you alone again. Ever. So, I'm not going."

Allison was about to utter her protest when she was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"She won't be alone. I can stay here with her." Sherman said as he stepped into the room. "Go home, Remy. This is already like the millionth time I've told you."

Remy turned her head and saw him standing near the sliding glass door. She dropped her gaze to the floor before looking back at Allison, who shifted in the bed and appeared to be as uncomfortable as she was.

The three of them had never been in the same room since the brunette admitted to Sherman that she was seeing Allison, at least not while all of them were conscious.

Sherman noticed the awkwardness and decided to address the elephant in the room.

"It's alright. I'm okay with the two of you being together. I'm still trying to come to terms with it, but I'm okay for now. I'd been watching you two from outside, and seeing how you comfort and make each other smile… I really don't want to stand in the way of your happiness." He smiled reassuringly, even though it did seem a little forced.

Remy couldn't believe what she had just heard as tears of joy welled up in her eyes. She felt as if the tons of emotional burdens she had been carrying around for so long was lifted right off her shoulders.

She hurriedly got off the bed and rushed towards Sherman to give him a bear hug.

Sherman laughed out when his best friend threw herself onto him and wrapped her arms around his neck. The hug lasted all of three seconds before he pushed her away with a grimace.

"What?" Remy asked in nervous whisper, wondering if Sherman had changed his mind as dread began to spread throughout her body.

"God, you stink."

**A happy ending, finally. :)  
**

**Not _ending_ ending, just an ending. ****This story is coming to an end though, maybe in a few chapters' time.  
**


	29. Chapter 29

"Okay, is there anything else?" Remy asked, stuffing the last pile of clothes into the backpack. She turned her head to the side to look at the blonde beside her, who was sitting on the bed and swinging her legs from side to side.

"Are you sure?" Remy questioned when she saw the shake of the head, arching a sceptical eyebrow. She swiftly zipped up the bag and threw it over her shoulder once she received an enthusiastic nod of the head from the blonde.

"What is up with you today?" Remy chuckled, thoroughly amused by the childlike responses she was receiving.

"I'm just happy that I finally get to go home." Allison answered with a bright smile, slowly getting off the bed.

She had been at the hospital for a little over a week now and she wanted nothing more than to leave the bland room she had been spending most of that time in. She didn't know what she would have done if Remy hadn't taken time off from work to keep her company.

The two of them looked to the door when they heard a few tentative knocks on it.

"Am I interrupting anything?" A familiar voice asked as the door creaked open slightly.

"Oh, no. Come in." Remy called out, mixing in an audible laugh. She shared an embarrass look with Allison at the recollection of being caught in a rather compromising position the last time that same person barged in.

Sherman poked his head past the small opening of the door to check on the situation before stepping into the room fully. He remembered stumbling upon the two women in bed a couple of days ago when he simply walked in without knocking, setting off a mass panic.

"How are you feeling today, Dr. Cameron?" Gardner asked after closing the door behind him.

"I'm feeling better. Thanks for asking." Allison replied, smiling appreciatively.

"Do you guys need a ride? I can give you a lift on our way back to the precinct." Sherman offered.

"No, it's fine. I have my car in the parking lot. Did you come here just to ask us if we need a ride?" Remy asked, frowning puzzlingly.

"Actually, we have a case. We were down at the morgue, so we figured we should drop by and see how everything is." Sherman shrugged, stuffing his hands into the front pockets of his pants.

"You have a case? Do you need help? I could-"

"It's okay, Gardner and I can handle it. You just focus on taking care of Allison, don't worry about anything else." Sherman interjected quickly, cutting Remy off.

He knew his best friend too well that she won't be able to concentrate on working if she had to leave Allison alone in her current physical condition. He was already beginning to get used to them being together, even though there was still some level of awkwardness, especially after that little incident.

"Alright. But if you need any help, just give me a call." Remy said before turning to Allison, who was standing close by her side. "You all set to go?"

"Yeah." Allison breathed out, linking her hand with Remy's.

* * *

Remy was hugging a huge brown grocery bag close to her chest in addition to the backpack that was hanging on one of her shoulders. They had decided to go grocery shopping on their way back to Allison's apartment from the hospital and Remy insisted that she carried everything up, so Allison wouldn't have to stress her still recovering body.

When they reached the front door, Remy swung the backpack forward and unzipped it before stuffing her hand in. Her hand wandered about aimlessly as she searched for the bunch of keys which had been buried deep within piles of clothing. She struggled to hold onto the brown bag with her other hand and it was coming dangerously close to slipping down to the ground.

She let out a frustrated groan when the search for the keys kept coming up futile.

"Are you sure you don't need my help?" Allison asked with a chuckle. She was standing beside Remy with her arms folded across her chest, watching in amusement.

As touched as she was by Remy's protectiveness, she doubted carrying a grocery bag for a few moments would cause any serious damage to her body.

"Nope, I have everything under control." Remy replied in a strained voice, stubbornly refusing any assistance.

"Yeah, I can clearly see that." Allison deadpanned, moving forward to grab the grocery bag from Remy.

Remy quickly turned away from the advancing woman, shielding it with her back as she continued to rummage around the backpack for those damn keys. Her annoyed expression became animated when her hand felt something jagged near the bottom. She wrapped her fingers around the serrated objected and yanked it out.

"Ah-ha! I got it. See, I told you I've everything under control." Remy said smugly once she had turned back to Allison.

She had a self-satisfied smile on her face as she dangled the keys in front of the blonde, who rolled her eyes playfully in response.

She thrust the key into the keyhole and opened the door, letting Allison stepped in first. She bent down to allow the backpack to slide off her shoulder when she was inside the apartment, kicking the door close with her heel at the same time.

"Why don't you go get some rest? I'll wake you up when lunch's ready." Remy spoke as she made her way to the kitchen.

Allison made a face at hearing the suggestion. She had been lying in bed almost the entire time she was in the hospital, she didn't want to be doing the same thing now that she was back in her own home.

She followed Remy into the kitchen, with every intention of helping her out.

"I'm thinking maybe I can help you make lunch." Allison replied, leaning her hip against the kitchen island. "I've been lying in bed for the past week or so, I'm tired of resting."

Remy started to unpack the groceries as soon as she set them down. She turned to give Allison a disapproving look, but it dissipated when her eyes laid upon a pouting face.

"You know there'll come a day when you pouting will no longer have any effect on me." Remy quipped defiantly, even though she knew in her heart the day would never arrive. She would forever remain defenceless against Allison's adorability.

"But until then, I will be using it to get what I want. And right now, I wanna help you make lunch." Allison responded in a sing-song voice, gently nudging Remy away from her spot and began to unpack the groceries.

Remy grinned at Allison's playfulness, then whirling around to take out a pot from under the kitchen counter. She placed it on the stove after washing it clean in the sink.

Allison turned to look at Remy, who had her back towards her. She ditched the task at hand and approached the oblivious woman from behind, slowly wrapping her arms around her waist and resting her cheek against her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Remy asked hesitantly. She was pleasantly surprised when she felt hands on her hips before they slid around her waist.

Allison planted a soft kiss on Remy's shoulder. "I'm more than okay. How long can we stay like this?"

"As long as you want. Actually, my leave ends the day after so technically, two days." Remy answered, wrapping her own arms around Allison's.

"Can I ask you something?" Allison asked in a rather solemn voice, feeling Remy tensed up in her arms.

Remy swiftly turned in the embrace to face Allison.

"What is it?" She asked concernedly, bringing her hands up to cup Allison's face.

Allison bit down on her lower lip. "Remember that case we had with the high-powered exec? Jacqueline something."

"Jacqueline Kaufman?" Remy deduced. "Yeah, of course. But why are you bringing her up?" She frowned in puzzlement, not quite sure where Allison was going with this.

"I have been meaning to ask… What did she mean when she said you're trying to numb yourself with the idea of dying by surrounding yourself with death?" Allison queried, looking up at Remy expectantly.

Remy heaved a sigh as she brushed blonde hair away from Allison's face.

"My mum passed away when I was thirteen. Before that, I had to watch her suffer through her illness before she finally just… died. It was horrible, having to see her struggle to get through each day. I guess I just never really wrapped my head around it. My dad and I grew apart after that. He never said it, but I know it's because I reminded him too much of her and I don't blame him. Each time I looked in the mirror, I see the image of my mum staring back. I'm afraid I'll end up like her."

"Remy…" Allison said softly, tenderly caressing her cheek.

Remy smiled reassuringly even as tears were forming in her eyes at the painful memory of how her family fell apart.

"I've never let anyone get close to me, because it hurts too much when they leave. The only one who ever got through to me was Sherman. But that was before I fell in love with you."

Allison pulled the brunette down for a kiss, pouring her affections into it and Remy reciprocated with just as much emotions.

"I've fallen in love with you too." Allison said breathlessly once she had pulled away. "And you never have to worry about me leaving you."

Remy leaned in for another passionate lip-lock, pulling the blonde close to her. She was about to deepened the kiss when Allison practically jumped out of it.

"Do you realize something?" Allison asked, staring at Remy with wide eyes.

"That I managed to make someone who hated me fall in love with me? Yeah." Remy replied with a haughty smile.

"No, not that!" Allison exclaimed, bouncing a little in the embrace. "For two people who're in love, we've never actually gone out on a date."

Remy cocked her head and looked disbelievingly at the woman in her arms. "Seriously?"

She let out a hearty laugh when Allison bobbed her head like a kid. "What about tomorrow night?"

Allison frowned censoriously. "Is that how you ask a woman out?"

Remy let out a noisy breath before straightening her posture and putting on a sincere look. "Will you, Allison Cameron, go out on a date with me tomorrow night?"

Allison beamed. "Absolutely."

**Since this is an AU story, I decided not to incorporate Remy's Huntington's disease into it and leave the issue vague instead. I'll leave it up to your imagination in regards to what exactly took place before the 'mass panic'. xD**

**And I hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween!  
**


	30. Chapter 30, Part I

Remy smiled to herself as she walked down the hallway towards the apartment near the end.

In her hands was a bouquet of fresh white lilies, which was releasing a pleasant floral fragrance into the air. Her silly smile widened with each inhale of sweet-smelling oxygen.

She stopped a couple of steps away from the door that labelled 'F' and promptly looked down to check on her outfit, smoothing out every noticeable crease. When she was satisfied with her appearance, she blew out a breath to settle her nerves and rapped on the door with her knuckles after hiding the bouquet behind her back.

"Hold on!" The voice in the apartment yelled.

Remy shifted from one foot to another, waiting anxiously for her date to answer the door. She hadn't seen her since she was laughingly chased out from there earlier in the morning. She could barely contain her excitement amid butterflies flapping their wings in her stomach and little drummer boys playing drums with her heart.

A few agonizing moments later, the door flew open and the sight was literally breath-taking. She would give out every breath she had left just so she could continue to stare at the extraordinarily beautiful woman before her.

Allison stood there with a smile so bright that it could light up Lake Vostok. She was wearing a figure-hugging fuchsia evening dress and her pastel golden hair was tumbling freely over her silky-smooth bare shoulders.

"Wow." Remy breathed out.

She had a series of fantastically worded phrases to comment on how gorgeous Allison was, but all of them meshed into one simple word once they came out of her mouth. She stared agape at the blonde, struggling to mould herself back in shape after having been melted by the intense glow of her beauty.

Allison lowered her head to hide her flushed cheeks, gingerly tucking her hair behind her ear. Her lips were stretched to their limits as she grinned from ear-to-ear at the flattering responses she was receiving from Remy, also secretly pleased that the past few hours she spent on herself hadn't been a complete waste.

"You cleaned up pretty well too." She looked up and said nonchalantly, even though she was just as taken by the stunning brunette standing at her door.

Remy was clad in a dark-coloured cocktail dress with a plunging neckline. Her lustrous brown hair was brought forward to cover parts of exposed tanned skin, torturously teasing her. The one thing Allison loved most was how everything seemed to compliment those dazzling teal eyes, which were twinkling with adoration as they set on her.

"Seriously?" Remy asked incredulously, her facial expression turning from one of admiration into one of feigned annoyance. "That's what you have to say about how I look? _I cleaned up well?_"

"It's a compliment!" Allison defended, chuckling when she saw the look of uncertainty she was given.

"You could have phrased it better. That sounded as if I'm a spruced up beggar who had been dragged out of the gutter." Remy replied, twisting her mouth to a side.

"Hmm, you would make a good-looking beggar." Allison said, smiling innocently. She earned herself a playful roll of the eyes in response.

"What are you holding behind your back?" She continued to ask, having just noticed that Remy appeared to be hiding something from her with the way her arm was bent back.

"This is for you." Remy took her hand out from behind her back to reveal the bouquet of white lilies, holding it out for Allison. "It was just lying in the dumpster so I thought, why not?"

She smiled in part contentment and part self-satisfaction when Allison's face brightened up at the sight of the bunch of her favourite flower.

"Remy… They are beautiful." Allison said as she took the flowers into her hands, putting her nose close to the top of the bouquet and inhaling deeply on the aromatic floral scent.

"So are you." Remy replied in a quiet voice.

She stared into the sparkling blue eyes when they looked up into hers in amazement, finding herself lost within their depths. She began to lean in towards Allison unconsciously and just as their lips was about to touch, a hand was brought up at the last minute to act as a barrier.

"Uh-uh. No kissing before the date's over." Allison said as she shook head her firmly with her eyes closed, sighing internally in relief that she had managed to catch herself in time.

"What? Why not?" Remy exclamation of dismay came out muffled as Allison's fingers were pressed against her mouth.

"Don't you know? It's a rule for first dates." Allison answered, biting down on her smile at the look of Remy's horrified yet adorable expression. She removed her hand to hug the bouquet close to her chest with both arms.

"Says who? There are plenty of people who kiss before their dates are over. There's no such rule." Remy contended, trying to argue her way to a kiss.

"Says me. And if there isn't one, I'm making it up right now." Allison replied defiantly. "Besides, if we kissed, we probably won't be going out anymore."

As soon as those words left her mouth, she felt her cheeks began to burn at the implication.

"Well, I prefer staying in anyway." Remy smirked, knowing without a doubt that they could be doing something so much more enjoyable.

"Come on, Remy. It's our first date. I've been waiting for this ever since we'd patched up, just go along with me." Allison pleaded, taking Remy's hand into her own and then swinging their joined hands from side to side.

Remy narrowed her eyes at Allison playfully.

"Fine, I will not kiss you until the date's over." She said, not able to resist giving in to the blonde. She contemplated on stealing a peck, but decided against it as she figured it would be worth the wait.

"So, are you ready to go?" She asked with a charming smile.

"Definitely." Allison replied breathlessly.

* * *

Allison gazed out the window of Remy's metallic blue Audi, watching bright orange lights on the streets and colourfully illuminated buildings zoomed past. She could see the brilliant white lights emitting from the majestic dome of the San Francisco City Hall not far away.

"Where are you taking me?" She turned to the brunette and asked.

"Someplace interesting." Remy answered in an enigmatic manner, smiling cheekily as she focused her attention on the road ahead.

Allison raised an amused eyebrow. She couldn't deny that the way Remy was being so reserved about their destination was making her heart flutter with anticipation.

"We're here." Remy announced excitedly, driving her car into an empty parking space by the road.

Allison ducked down a little in her seat to take a peek out the window on Remy's side. "Indigo Restaurant? That's what you're so secretive about?"

"Of course not. It's what's below it." Remy said, flashing a grin at Allison as she unbuckled her seatbelt.

She quickly got out of the car and walked briskly around the front of it. When she reached the passenger's side, she chivalrously opened the door for Allison to step out and held out one of her hands for her to take.

"Thanks." Allison responded as she took Remy's outstretched hand, smiling gratefully.

Once Remy had closed the door and locked up the car, they walked hand-in-hand towards Indigo Restaurant with their sides pressed close to each others'.

"So, what's below it?" Allison asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"You'll find out soon enough." Remy replied in the same mysterious style as before.

When they entered the restaurant, she led Allison to a stairway with a life-sized banner hanging over on the opposite window panel that wrote _'opaque - dining in the dark'_. She immediately turned to face her date, wanting to get the first look at her reaction.

Allison had her eyebrows turned upwards in surprise.

"We're gonna eat in the dark? Doesn't that mean I won't be able to see you?" She questioned tentatively, her eyebrows slowly moving downwards into a small frown. As fascinating as the idea was, the thought of not seeing Remy throughout the whole dinner didn't seem appealing.

"That's why it's gonna be so much fun." Remy responded and started to pull Allison down the flight of stairs.

Her original intention bringing Allison there was to replace the awful memory of that fateful day when they were both in the dark with Zachary Skinner, but now, the intention had become a mere undertone.

Allison shook her head and chuckled at the eagerness that Remy showing. She couldn't help but be swept along with the enthusiasm.

Before they could enter the dining area, they had to turn off their phones and give in their purses to the hostess at the lounge for safekeeping. When they had finished placing their orders for each of the three courses of the prix fixe meal, the two of them were guided into the pitch-black dining room.

Allison held onto Remy's hand tightly as they made their way into the dining area, surrounded by nothing other than darkness.

Blinded by the dark, their other senses were considerably heightened. The wonderful mixture of different aromas from the food in the room hit their noses instantly and the excited chattering of other patrons rang in their ears.

They were led to a booth after a seemingly endless walk.

Allison bent down with her hand stretched out to feel for the cushioned seat. She sat down and scooted in quickly once her hand came in contact with smooth furry material, pulling Remy in along with her.

"You doing okay?" Remy asked, her head turned to the direction where she assumed Allison was.

"Yeah, but it feels kind of scary." Allison whispered with a slight tremble in her voice. On top of not having the ability to see, she was finding it difficult to make out Remy's voice among so many others around them.

"Why are you whispering?" Remy asked, laughing at the amusing behaviour of her date.

Allison was glad for the darkness at that moment as it was hiding her reddened cheeks. Despite merely reacting naturally to being in a darkened environment by lowering her voice, she was still rather embarrassed that Remy had caught her out.

"I feel like we're doing something sneaky being in the dark." Allison replied, her voice rose back to her normal volume.

"We're not… But we could be." Remy responded. This time, it was her who had her voice lowered.

"Remy! We're in the public." Allison chastised. She felt her cheeks burned further upon hearing the playful suggestion in a flirtatious tone.

"It's not like anyone can see us." Remy teased, softly bumping her shoulder into Allison's.

Allison bit down on her lower lip, smiling broadly at the same time as she thought about how right Remy was when she had said this was going to be so much fun. It had taken her a while to reach a comfortable level in the dark, but she starting to become more attuned to her surroundings or more specifically, to Remy.

The warmth emitting from Remy beside her was heartening, the distinct vanilla scent she emanated was intoxicating and the feel of her smooth, slender arm grazing against her own was stimulating. She could hardly wait till she finally laid her eyes on the brunette.

One of the trained waiters of the restaurant interrupted their frolicsome moment by serving up their appetizers. It was pretty challenging for the two of them to eat in the dark, considering the fact that they couldn't even find their utensils. After a couple of minutes of blind search and giggles, they found the cutlery and began to dig into their food.

The whole dining experience was one of a kind. They were able to identify each ingredient and taste each explosion of spice as it touched their palates, stirring their senses in an almost intimidating way.

Being in playful moods, they attempted to feed each other in dark with disastrous yet comical results. Once they had finished fooling around and were done with their meals, they were led out of the pitch-black dining area and back into the lighted lounge.

"Hi." Remy greeted with a smile, fighting the urge to pull the blonde into a fiery lip-lock.

"Hi back." Allison said, smiling brightly. She too, was trying to resist closing the distance between them.

"Come on, let's take you home." Remy spoke in whisper as she moved towards Allison to interlace their fingers. As they were closed to the end of their first date, she was hoping she would be able to get her kiss at last.

And maybe something more.

**Not sure if anyone knows this, Lake Vostok is a lake in Antarctica that is buried deep under more than ten thousand feet of ice with practically no sunlight going through.**

**I have no idea what's up with all the darkness-related stuff in this fluffy chapter, they just came to me as I wrote it so I hope they didn't shadow the brilliance of Camteen.**** And I had to split the date into two parts due to the length, but I will try to upload the second part tomorrow. :)**


	31. Chapter 30, Part II

**This is an 'M' rated chapter, just a little warning.**

Remy walked side-by-side with Allison down the corridor as they headed towards the blonde's apartment.

When they had reached the front door, Allison started to rummage through her purse. Knowing exactly how the date was going to end, she was a bundle of nerves as she fumbled with the chain of keys she had taken out, before inserting the right one on the keyhole. She turned around once she had unlocked the door to face Remy, who was standing a couple of steps away with her hands clasped loosely in front of her.

"I really had fun tonight." She said, her words coming out with a slight tremble to them.

"So, do I get to kiss you now?" Remy asked with a hopeful expression, smiling charmingly at the same time.

Allison was about to answer when the sound of a door opening down the corridor drew both their attention. They looked towards the direction and saw a woman, who appeared to be in her mid-forties, exiting her home. She casted a weird look at the two women before starting down the stairs.

Remy arched an eyebrow when she saw the look, but shrugged it off as she turned back to Allison. Something nagged at her at the back of her head and after doing some mental digging, she realized what it was.

"Does your neighbour still live here?" Remy queried, turning her head back to look down the now empty hallway.

"My neighbour?" Allison asked, her forehead wrinkling with a concentrated frown as she looked over Remy's shoulder down the same hallway.

"Yeah, you know, your neighbour?" _That I slept with. _"I just can't seem to remember her though." Remy said with a sheepish expression.

Allison perked up in comprehension once her mind served her with the memory. "Well, you better remember me."

She smiled seductively as she reached out to take Remy's hand and backed into the apartment door behind one deliberate step at a time, tugging the brunette forward, all the while keeping her rapacious eyes locked with astonished ones.

When her back bumped into hardwood, her free hand slid up the white refined surface before slowly wrapping her fingers around the smooth metal doorknob. The unanticipated coolness made her spine shivered involuntarily.

Remy's mind had gone into a momentary standstill when she caught the suggestive glint in Allison's blue irises and she found herself being drawn to their beauty. The sight was very much similar to looking at the impressive sparkles of sunshine as rays of sunlight reflected off clear azure water surface.

Her temporary inactive body was pulled forward by a gentle force towards Allison, but rather than finding herself to be closer to her, the distance between them seemed to remain unchanged. The realization kicked start her brain and she closed up the space separating them by moving ahead with a few hasty steps.

Allison would have laughed out at the impatience shown by Remy, had she not been occupied with slowing down her rapid heartbeat. Her grip on the doorknob loosened once the door was pushed open with her back, bringing the two of them into her apartment.

She began to veer off the straight course she was taking in reverse until her back hit the wall beside the opened door. Remy was standing in front of her, their bodies barely touching. Her regulated breathing had turned ragged as she continued to look into intense yet affectionate gaze. She saw the door drifted close from the corners of her eyes and her heart raced out of control.

As soon as she heard the distinct click of the bolt extending into its strike plate after pushing the door shut with her back of her feet, Remy brought her unbounded hand up to caress Allison's cheek before leaning in to capture those inviting lips.

The moment their lips touched, she thought her heart might explode in delight. She extracted her hand from Allison's hold and placed it on her waist instead. She slowly wrapped her arm around her torso when the blonde arched her back as the kiss deepened and they moaned simultaneously in gratification.

Allison melted in the tender embrace as their tongues began to engage in a sensual dance, feeling her legs on the verge of giving out. She quickly tensed up the muscles in them before taking a few steps forward and forcing Remy to move backwards, attempting to guide them into the bedroom.

"Bed-" She didn't even managed to get the second syllable out when she was cut off by the lips of an eager Remy.

They made brief stops at the side of the couch, the television shelf and the kitchen island along the way prior to stumbling through the bedroom door with their respective heels already discarded and their mouths still firmly attached. Their hands were tangled in the mass of blonde and brown hair, turning scrupulously fashioned hairstyles into perfect messes in a matter of seconds.

Remy slid her hand down to Allison's exposed upper back and trailed her fingertips teasingly across its length, smiling into the kiss when she felt Allison shivered in her arms as she grazed her bare skin. She lowered her hand a little until she found the zipper of her fuchsia evening dress and pulled it downwards.

Allison felt her tight-fitting gown loosened around her figure as cool air instantly swept in to hug her, providing a much needed relief for her increasingly warm body. She found herself becoming restless and began to let her hands wandered down the front of Remy, gently massaging clothed breasts, eliciting a pleasured moan from the brunette.

Remy kissed her way down to Allison's neck and nipped at her pulse point, before moving onto her sternum. She disengaged her lips from silky skin, kneeling on the ground as she tugged the dress down Allison's body.

"Allison…" Remy breathed out, when she saw the square bandaged wound that was uncovered once the gown had fallen onto the floor, tracing her fingers around the dressing.

"Remy, it's okay." Allison whispered through her heavy breathing, after looking down at the white patch on her lower abdomen.

"Are you sure? Because I don't want to hurt you." Remy spoke with great uncertainty as she stood up, wearing a worried expression.

Allison nodded and gave a reassuring smile. "You won't. I'll be fine."

That was all the assurance Remy needed. She slipped out of her own dress with a little help from Allison and a few seconds later, the two women stood clad in just their underwear. They stared amorously at each other, like nothing else in the world existed.

She then reached around Allison to unhook her bra and slowly slid the article off her shoulders, tossing it away haphazardly before Allison returned the favour.

Remy smiled softly and held out her hand for Allison to take, leading them to the side of the bed. She watched as Allison laid herself down onto the bed, before climbing onto the bed. She let out a subtle shaky breath to soothe her nerves, the beats of her heart multiplying. She was never one to get nervous in this kind of situation, but somehow, she was.

Remy carefully placed one of her knees between Allison's legs and both of her hands on either side of her face, hovering over Allison. The way the blonde looked so vulnerable underneath her tugged at her heart strings. She leaned down and kissed Allison deeply, wanting to envelop her with all the love and care she could give.

Allison reciprocated the kiss with equal passion. Positioned between Remy and the soft mattress, she felt as if she was lying on a cloud, bathed by the warmth of the sun. She pulled Remy down onto her, with a hand on the back of her head and the other on her waist.

There was an involuntary jerk of her body and an emit of a strangled groan from Allison when pain sparked in her abdomen once their bodies were pressed close together, applying unintentional pressure on her wound.

Remy pulled away from the kiss instantly, looking into teary eyes with a horrified expression.

"I'm okay." Allison assured, before lifting her head up to capture Remy's lips again.

Her hands started to roam around the brunette's tensed up body - trailing down her curve, drawing across her lower back and then moving back up her front until they were entwining in brown hair. In an effort to relieve the pulsation between her legs, she bucked her hip up against Remy's thigh.

Remy relaxed the muscles in her body when Allison's hands travelled all over her, caressing every area of her exposed skin. She gently pushed herself into Allison when she felt damped heat against her thigh, carefully avoiding putting in too much force. Her causing Allison pain without pleasure was simply unacceptable.

She moved her lips to Allison's neck then to the valley of her breasts and further downwards, leaving wet trails of soft kisses down her slender body.

Allison squirmed under Remy. Her eyes were squeezed shut, feeling a bit more agonized with each passing second. All she really needed was a single touch to send her into rapture. She gasped when she felt fingers grazed her hip, tugging at the waistband of her panties before it was pulled off of her completely.

Her lips were reclaimed by Remy when she climbed back up on top of her. She twitched slightly when a hand brushed teasingly against her bare thigh. Just as she was about to beg for a merciful relief, Remy's fingers slid into her, muffling out her cry with her mouth.

Remy was getting close to her own state of bliss just by pleasing the woman below her. She was pouring her feelings into the kiss, showing her love with each thrust. So focused was she on satisfying Allison, she failed to notice a hand gliding down to her own centre until it was too late.

She groaned into the ever passionate kiss at the unexpected penetration, barely holding up her body weight with her elbow when she crumbled to prevent herself from collapsing onto a rather fragile Allison.

Their hand movements gradually began to synchronize, sending wave after wave of pleasure coursing through their bodies until a final drive from each of them pushed one another over the edge, falling into the abyss of pure ecstasy while moaning out their lover's name.

Remy dropped down onto the empty side of the bed, panting heavily. Her eyes were closed as she tried to catch her breath. She swept dampened hair away from her face and shook off the beads of sweat she had wiped off her forehead from her hand.

Allison turned and moved close to Remy as soon as she came down from her high, throwing her arm across the brunette's stomach and tangling their legs.

"I love you." She whispered, nuzzling her face against Remy's neck.

Remy smiled to herself when she heard the declaration, before opening her eyes and tilted her head down to give Allison a tender kiss on her forehead.

"I love you too." She whispered back, running her hand through wet blonde hair.

Allison hummed blissfully as she slowly drifted off into sleep, shifting around slightly to get into a more comfortable position. She tightened her arm around Remy's waist and buried her face deeper in her neck, before finally settling down.

Remy stared up at the ceiling as she grazed her fingertips up and down the blonde's upper arm.

"You didn't answer my question earlier, you know." She said in a quiet voice, too physically drained to speak in her normal volume.

"Hmm?" Allison mumbled sleepily.

"Does your neighbour still live down the hall?" Remy asked, continuing to stare blankly up at the white ceiling.

"Why? You're not thinking about going back to her, are you?" Allison questioned, tilting her head up to narrow her eyes at Remy. She was suddenly feeling wide awake.

"What? Of course not." Remy replied in a high-pitched voice, chuckling at the absurdity of the notion.

"Well, even if you are, you can't. She moved out a few months ago." Allison answered, nestling her face against the side of Remy's and couldn't resist giving a peck on her cheek.

"Good then, spare me the awkward meetings in the hallway." Remy responded, before closing her tired eyes.

Allison frowned in thought at the contradictory of Remy's words. "You don't even remember what she looks like. You said it yourself."

Remy rolled her eyes open. "I know that. But _she remembers me_."

"What makes you think she remembers you?" Allison asked sceptically.

"Oh, I'm sure she does." Remy breathed out in total smugness. "You should know that by now."

**It took me thirty chapters to get these two to go on their first date and another one more to get them to finally, you know. So I hope this is worth everyone's wait.**

**Anyway, the next update will be the epilogue, which means it'll be the last chapter of this story! *gasp*  
**


	32. Chapter 31

"Hey, Hadley!" Lt. Virginia Gordon called out, when she glanced up from the file she was reading and caught the aforementioned brunette detective walking past the opened door of her office. She hung up the phone and went around her desk hurriedly, approaching Remy with a few purposeful strides.

"Take Marshall and head down to Montgomery Street." She commanded, her well-defined features stiffening to produce a stern look. "Dispatch just received a call about a body being tossed out a vehicle onto the side of the road. I need the two of you to get there as quickly as possible. I'll contact the GSA to send someone down to help as well."

"Alright, I'm on it." Remy replied with a nod, before continuing her trek to her desk with a quicker pace and taking several rushed sips from the cup of wobbling coffee in her hands along the way.

"Come on, get your things together. We gotta go. Now." She said to Sherman once she reached the desk she shared with him. She put down her drink down and began to gather her belongings, sliding her phone into her jeans pocket and stuffing the gun she had taken out from the drawer into its holster that hung on the right side of her hip.

"Where to?" Sherman asked in a muffled voice. He had his breakfast in his mouth as he spoke, causing crumbs of toast to shoot out from it. The slightly larger sized ones landed on his lap, while the smaller and lighter ones travelled greater distance all the way to Remy's side of the desk. He lifted his shoulders up and gave an apologetic look, after receiving an annoyed dental click from his partner.

"Montgomery Street." Remy stated, making a face as she brushed bread crumbs off the table.

"Is the GSA sending Allison?" Sherman asked out of curiosity as he cleared his breakfast off the table and into the wastepaper basket located just by the side in one big sweeping motion of his arm. He promptly stood up from his seat and grabbed his stuff, before walking briskly towards the exit with Remy right next to him.

Remy gave a shrug. "I don't know. But I hope so."

* * *

Sherman put the brakes on his black coupe when he was stopped by a traffic police, as he tried to manoeuvre it out of the long line of vehicles and into the empty space behind a few San Francisco cruisers. He rolled down the window and motioned for the officer to come forward.

"I'm Detective Marshall from the DHI and this is my partner, Detective Hadley." He said, gesturing to Remy and flashing his badge at the same time. "We're here for the investigation."

"Oh I'm sorry, Detective Marshall, I didn't know. You can go on through." The officer replied, stepping aside to allow Sherman to drive into the empty space he was guarding.

A large part of the road was cordoned off to prevent any loss of evidence from the crime scene, leaving just about enough room for vehicles to drive past in a single file. The sounds of curses and honks were all around as impatient drivers attempted to hurry things along. The situation was made even chaotic with curious onlookers surrounding the jam-packed area to sneak a peek at an actual crime scene, murmuring among themselves.

Remy scrunched up her features at hearing the loud disorienting noises once she had exited the car. After sharing an irked look with Sherman, they swiftly made their way into the sealed off site and immediately came upon the half-naked body of a man sprawled out on the ground. His body was slanted up as half of it laid on top of the pathway, which was a step higher than the road.

Allison was kneeling beside the body and hunched over it, carefully examined the bruises that were found all over his face and upper torso.

"Dr. Cameron." Remy greeted with playful formality, the corners of her mouth tugging upwards.

Allison snapped her head up to see Remy standing over her with a smile and Sherman just a mere step behind. "Hey you." She greeted back warmly, chuckling on the inside at being addressed so officially with her title by the woman whom she had been repeatedly intimate with the previous night.

They stared lovingly at each other, before being brought out of their spell when Sherman cleared his throat rather loudly. Allison lowered her head to hide her flushed cheeks, quickly getting back to examining the body. Remy turned to the side to narrow her eyes at her partner, who was pressing his lips together to hold back his grin.

"Detectives!" A gruff voice called out. The three of them looked to the direction of the voice and saw a broad-shouldered man in police uniform walking up towards them. "I've been waiting for you."

"What have you got for us?" Remy asked.

"The victim's a John Doe. He had no ID on him. The eye-witnesses I'd interviewed said that they saw the body being thrown out a dark blue van. Everything happened pretty fast, so none of them actually got to see who did it. They didn't manage to take down the license plate number as well." He answered with regret.

"Okay, thanks." Sherman said, heaving a sigh afterwards. "Damn it. This is just perfect."

"What is it?" Remy questioned, frowning in concern.

Sherman shook his head. "I can't believe I'm gonna have to cancel on my date tonight, after finally having worked up my courage to ask-"

"Wait, hold on. What?" Remy breathed out, staring incredulously at Sherman. "You have a date? With who? Why didn't you tell me?" She blurted out in quick succession, slightly hurt by the fact that he didn't mention any of it to her.

"I didn't?" Sherman asked, knitting his eyebrows together. "Huh. I thought I did. Well, if I didn't, I'm telling you now. I have a date tonight. Or should I say, I _was supposed _to have a date tonight."

"Who's the lucky woman?" Allison queried, looking up from the body to Sherman with interest.

"I met her at the hospital not long ago, when I had that car accident. She works in the ER." He replied, smiling as he thought back to their first encounter.

"You had a car accident? How come I didn't know?" Remy exclaimed in disbelief, getting a little worked up.

Sherman put both his hands on Remy's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "I'll tell you everything once we get out of here. Right now can we just focus on what's more important?" He asked, gesturing towards the beaten up body lying on the ground.

"Fine." Remy replied, reverting back to her usual composed self. She then turned her attention to the blonde medical examiner kneeling on the jagged road. "So what did you find, Allison?"

"Well, based on the hepatic temperature, he couldn't have been dead for more than two hours. Multiple contusions to his abdomen and chest area could have caused internal haemorrhaging, but I can't be sure. I'll have to do a full autopsy to determine the cause of death." Allison responded as she stood up, grimacing at the pain on her knees.

"You alright?" Remy asked, moving forward to place a hand on Allison's lower back.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Allison replied, smiling reassuringly. She squatted down to pack her things after motioning for the aides to bag the body and smiled in appreciation when Remy crouched to help her out.

Once the body had been wheeled away, they walked off the crime scene towards their cars.

"I'll see you later okay?" Remy said when they reached the side of a sliver hybrid, gently brushing away from blonde hair from Allison's face and tucked them behind her ear.

"Okay." Allison replied in a quiet voice, busking in the tender moment for a few seconds longer before getting into her car. Remy glanced back a couple of times while walking away from Allison, her heart getting heavier with each step as she found herself already missing the blonde.

"I'll work with Gardner on finding that blue van. When you head down to the morgue later, make sure you get the post-mortem report from Allison and have her send some of his DNA down to the lab for testing." Sherman said, looking over the black hood of the car at Remy.

Remy nodded in accord and pulled open the car door. "Don't worry, I'll be all over her."

**That's it, folks! ****This epilogue turned out longer than I expected. So for that, oops.**** You can compared it with the first chapter to see the differences and how far Camteen has come.**** I've had a great time writing over these couple of months and I can't believe I managed to squeeze 32 chapters out of my brain during this time.** **Thanks a lot for reading this story as well as reviewing it, you have my most sincere appreciation. :)  
**

**I would love to take a few moment to breathe, but then I so innocently turned my head and saw a mini Mount Everest on my desk made up of my homework. Damn.  
**


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